What happens if your signing on day is St. Patricks Day

zooned

My next signing on day for JA is Tuesday 17th March, St. Patricks Day.
I was told by one of the staff at the social welfare office that because the office is closed that day I won't have to sign on again until April.
Just curious if anyone else been told the same thing.
I don't want to end up losing out if I was told the wrong information.

uoluol

Not being funny, but if you were told by a member of staff in Social Welfare that you are excused from signing, because of the bank holiday - why are you doubting the advice given?

It is usual to be excused from signing if your signing day falls on a holiday, or around Christmas or Easter. So don't worry, I'm sure all is in order. If you have been given your new signing day, well just turn up then.

zooned

uoluol wrote: »

Not being funny, but if you were told by a member of staff in Social Welfare that you are excused from signing, because of the bank holiday - why are you doubting the advice given?

Because I have already been told by a staff member in the same social welfare office that I had to sign on every week. Which turned out to be untrue.
I have also been told that I would know the outcome of my JA means test within 2 weeks. Also untrue, still waiting after 5 weeks.
So I take everything I'm told by the staff with a degree of scepticism.
Hope that clarifies your

uoluol wrote: »

It is usual to be excused from signing if your signing day falls on a holiday, or around Christmas or Easter. So don't worry, I'm sure all is in order. If you have been given your new signing day, well just turn up then.

As I am new to signing on I wouldn't know if it was usual or not. I have nothing in writing stating my new signing on day, only a conversation with staff, so just asking if other people were told the same.
Just as a matter of interest, how long have people been waiting for their signing on slip to come in the post. As yet I have received no correspondence whatsoever from social welfare after 5 weeks.

uoluol

I think you misunderstood when you were told you sign on every week. Everybody signs on monthly at their local social welfare office, I think you must mean that you collect your payment weekly at your nominated post office, and you sign there to say you have collected it.

I find your post a bit confusing, I don't think you have your claim authorised yet, as you are still waiting on a means test - therefore you don't have to worry about signing yet. It can take anything up to 12 weeks for a Jobseekers Allowance claim to be authorised - very slow I know - but they are huge backlogs, and they also take more time, as they are not based on your PRSI contributions.

I'm sorry if you took my reply in a negative vein, wasn't meant to be.....

zooned

I think the confusion arises when the staff don't even know what they are talking about.
I was definitely told to come in every week to sign on at the social welfare office.
I was also told by the social welfare inspector that it would take two weeks to process my claim. When you don't know any better you take them at their word.
If the social welfare staff could just give accurate information there would be less confusion.
When I signed on initially I was given very little information on what the process would be.
I find there is more information on these message boards than anything the social welfare tell you.
I presume that even though my application hasn't been dealt with yet I still have to sign on every month.
Now it's turning into a rant about the social welfare system and I'm going off topic from my original post so I'll shut up now.
Thank you for your replies and they are more informative than anything I got from the social welfare staff.

mikemac

I don't think your claim will be approved within 5 weeks.
Nobody but the department will have the statistics but from reading many posts here and newspaper articles, it's heading to 9 weeks plus.

So my advice would be budget accordingly and don't expect anything until April at least.

You will be signing monthly but collecting weekly. This causes a lot of confusion when people ask about "signing". You'll be signing for both occasions but only one is the traditional signing on at the local SW office.

People here do give good advice but it's not always clear what the question is.

If you have questions, ask here, read here or here.

You have an advantage in that you can use the internet, many people in Ireland can't so it's bit easier. All the info you need is there.

If you're still stuck, call into an office here and they will answer your questions. They have the same information that the SW officers have but they aren't under constant pressure and can take the time to talk to you. Prepare your questions beforehand.
If your claim is messed up or mislaid then can make calls on your behalf.

It's a stressful time for you but cut the SW officers a break.
Hope that helps