JSA / JSB Waiting times Survey

Xiney

Out of curiosity, let's see how long it's taking around the country to get Jobseeker's Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance, and all the other Social Welfare Payments.

Obviously it won't be a rule to go by, but it may give us an idea of what things are looking like.


Social Welfare Office:
Social Welfare Payment:
Application Date:
Date informed of means test appointment, if applicable*:
Date of means test appointment:
Weeks from Application to Payment:





*this means the day that you get the letter in the post or the phone call telling you when they're coming by

baxterfly

I applied March 30th for jobseekers benefit. I was told 4 to 5 weeks.
Now today I was told it would be around another 3 weeks. Im not even means tested.

THe woman in the SW office also said they were understaffed. Of course they are. So it looks like around 7 weeks before I get anything. This is in Kilbarrack, Dublin.

robinph

Took five weeks before I could collect my first payments of dole* after the date of first going into the office.

* Well, whatever it is they call the un-means tested one now.

JuJuBean

Applied end jan to the Clondalkin office. Told I had to have my P45 before I'd get anything. Finally got my P45 mid March and handed it in straight away, met with a member of staff who advised me what to do in relation to submitting details of part time work I am doing. That was around 15th March, she said there was a 4 week backlog, but I still haven't received anything. So in effect I've been out of work three months and have not received any benefit yet.

jobucks

put on a 3 day week, so put claim in for other 2 days... had it in 2 weeks. Couldn't believe it as had heard all the horror stories. Am in Cobh, so seems its not an extremely busy office.. which is a good thing

scanlas

I'm waiting since the 2nd of March, still nothing.

LeahBaby

Portlaoise. JB.

Finished work on the 27th March. Went into office on 31st March.

Had dole by the 9th April.

First time on it.

Kanney

Now it is 7 weeks today I havent received. Can I ask in the local office? Im in Galway do I go to Customer Desk and ask, will they tell me?

Nehaxak

Applied for JB end of March, no means test required. Still waiting to receive anything. No feedback, no letter, no phonecall, nothing whatsoever.
Social welfare office is Ballymun.

Bendihorse

I got my unemployment benefit within 2.5 weeks. Roscommon office. He told me that i could be waiting up to 8 weeks and to consider visiting CWO, then a letter landed on my doorstep to tell me that my payment was available for collection the following Friday. I was very surprised it came through so quickly.

Lollipops23

i went in about 3 weeks ago and was told my money would be ready to be collected in 5-6weeks. the backdated payment should be worth approx E900, has anyone any experience of any problems arising at this late stage of claiming?i have already earmarked(not spent) most of the money i'm due,i'd be gutted if something came up that prevented me getting it!

Lollipops23

IT Loser wrote: »

Did you apply for Benefit or Allowance?

Where did you apply for it?

Ta.

im getting jobseekers benefit and my office is Northumberland St in Dublin.

Bagmagnet

Social Welfare Office:Limerick
Social Welfare Payment:Jobseekers Allowance
Application Date:25th May
Weeks from Application to Payment:5 weeks

SteelyDanJalapeno

Waiting since mid may for JSA

6 weeks now,

South tipp offices

Bagmagnet

Don't know why my claim was so quick going through..

This is what I did, something may have had an effect:

Went down first thing in the morning. Was about the 10th person to claim on that day (I said in a previous post that I claimed on the 25th May, it was actually the 27th).

I had all documents, bills, forms of id etc. with me when I made my claim.

Had my means test about 2 weeks after I made the claim.

Applied for supplementary welfare allowance on the 26th June.

Received supplementary allowance on the 1st July.

Will be receiving JSA on the 6th or 7th of July. I received 2 letters with different dates..

I also have no land/property/loans/shares/children/business/inheritance/spouse.. Just a bank account with no money in it.

rainbow kirby

1 week, Tallaght. Got JB straight after finishing college. (claim made on 20/5, approved on 27/5)

Neeties2

I applied on 9th Dec i was means tested on 5th May and still no payment. Myself and my son are almost homeless!!!!

jenny retro

Galway city,
applied for JSA on 21st JANUARY, got my first payment on, I believe 9th JUNE.
not kidding, got supplementary welfare in the meantime so i was ok, but wouldn't want to have mortgage payments or anything. Cant remember when the means test was, think Feb or march sometime.

jjf212

Hi,

I applied for the JSA on 10th March 2009. I got all my documentation in on 20th March 2009 and I have called into the office 3 times since as I was afraid I had not submitted everything. Each time they said my application was fine but the office had not dealt with March yet.

I have gone to the CWO and I am in receipt of the SWA so things are ok. However I am just wondering how long more it will be. I have a significant amount of credit card debt which I built up while waiting for the backpay (I didnt visit the CWO for a long time (6th June) as initially the office staff told me it would be no more than 2 months.

From 20th March it has been 16 weeks!!

I am in Cork City by the way. Has anyone had similar experiences?

jjf212

Hey thanks for reply.

I had my means test on March 10th - the day I first went in. I am getting SWA so I am effectively getting the JSA so cant really complain.

I know that in Cork now they seem to be processing the new applicants first (since a few weeks ago). My friend signed on about 3 weeks ago and he got sorted in less than 2 weeks.

I have heard similar stories from people who signed on at this stage. Something to do with pressure from the Govt to stop the bad press of waiting times.

irish life

Went into Apollo House on 3rd July to claim Jobseekers Allowance. Was given the date of 5th August to go back in and see an officer.

miec

Like others I am applying for jobseeker's allowance, made the application on the 12th of May at Portarlington dole office. I am still waiting, I have not had a visit from the inspector, I cannot claim SWA as I live with my partner so we have to live on his income which is just above the threshhold for any supplementary payments. I have been told that I may only get a half payment as I have a child, and based on his earnings, I hope to God I get it because things are very very tight. If I am still waiting by August with no word then I'll contact a local TD and see what happens there.

tinyfox

Passed means test 2 months ago and still awaiting payment. Signed on almost 9 weeks ago in Cork and am not eligible for rent allowance or emergency pay as partner is earning €30 a week above the maximum allowed.

Was told in dole office will be waiting up to 12 weeks. Anybody had any different in Cork in recent weeks?

daveyboy_1ie

Applied on April 01st (no joke ) and considered myself very lucky to get payment 7 weeks later as the Clondalkin Office was a nightmare.

DO'Carlo/Wex

Signed-on Clondalkin on 11th-Febuary, same-day as let-go.
Woman there stamped our' forms from that day but as it was 1.30 & they closed at 3.30, she told us no-point waiting as queue was too-big anyway to be seen til next day.
Went down. No. 36 @ 9/9.30. Fecked off to Mill S.C. for brekkie & came back over an hour later & ondly up-to 15 or 16 @ 10.45.
Got seen to at 11.30 or after. Moved home then & transfered my claim on the Monday imediately after. Got it within 3-weeks max. afaik.

Note: Day you lose your' job, sign-on as 1st x 3-days are waiting days (wtf? don't ask....some stupid archaic civil service rule no doubt!). My form was stamped on the day even though I wouldn't be seen so I got full-weeks' payment from the Monday after if you get my drift.

SMM

SW Office: Cork City
Payment: Job Seekers Benefit
Application Date: April 14th 09
Payment: Pending

14 weeks and counting.....not a sausage....:(

IT Loser

Tomorrow marks the 2nd week of waiting since the Means Test

Jafin

Applied last october, had to wait 2/3 weeks for my first payment. That was the one thats not means tested (always get the 2 mixed up)
Still jobless and had to apply for the measn tested one. They sent me a letter 3 months before my dole was due to be up and I had an interview in late April, got my first payment for that 2 weeks ago.

IT Loser

Little procedural update on the situation in Bray.

I spoke to a girl in the office, last FRIDAY, July 24th.

She said that this Thursday, July 30th, they would be closing the office to try and get through some of the pending claims.

She also said that my name was down in the computer as being in the line for payment, which was encouraging.

However, she basically said that I could be another 2-4 weeks waiting, but that I was definitely approaching completion.

Finally, some feedback.:cool:

tommy21

Office: Cork City Hanover St.
Status: Made appointment today for next week, may qualify based on credits for JSB, in and out in 10 mins, place was empty. Real test next week of course, will update here as I go

turgon

Received letter today after 20 weeks. Cork City Office.

leek

signed on last tuesday in Dun L for JSB, was told id be waiting 4-5 weeks , today surprisinly i got called by the office to say my claim had been successful and i can collect next wens, and ur man said he was looking at my id and that im the ringer of bob dylan nice end to the conversation.. lol

tommy21

Seen and submitted application yesterday, told about 4 weeks wait for JSB (which I assume means I qualify automatically?) We shall see, let the waiting commence!

Fromvert

JSA - 9/10 weeks since applying and havn't heard anything yet.
Location - Blanchardstown

Guessing it could be a few more weeks.

nukinfuts

applied 20th May to the Galway office - still nothing. Friend of mine was in there today that applied at the same time - she was told the application hadn't been touched and she may not receive a payment until the new year!

i want to cry.

nukinfuts

benefit - we were dealt with as a group of 60 (due to redundancy) so SW came to our workplace - but not one of our applications have been touched yet (supposedly) I'll know more tomorrow when I go in to find out for myself!

LFC5Times

Went in on a Wed and given forms to fill out for JSA,told to come back on Friday with forms filled out.

Gave them to lady on Friday and she asked me a few questions, told me instead of sending an assessor out to me if I came back in the following Friday with bank statements I would be assessed there and then.

Went in the following Friday and spoke with the guy in there and he copied my bank statements and said that was all.

The following Tues I got letter telling me to go collect it that Thurs and every Tues thereafter.

nukinfuts

just back from SW office in Galway (ref JSB) - waiting about 10 weeks now, told they can't give me a time frame, they're only dealing with March claims now :mad:

miec

Oh my God some of the waiting times are horrendous, I am still waiting and at this rate it could be months. I think it is either 14 or 15 weeks I am waiting, I haven't even had a visit from the officer so it could be another month or two or three, but if I am waiting any longer than a month for someone to visit I am contacting a local TD or something. It is extremely unfair for people to wait so long.

BravoMike

Waiting since 13 Jan 09 in Limerick!!!

BravoMike

Ok, I first signed on 13 Jan 09, on that day I was told everything looked fine, I had enough tax credits the lot, recieved a letter from SW (Social Welfare) to go to decisions about 2 months later.
I was then told I did not have enough tax credits and was told to go to the tax office to get a print of of all the tax I pay and return it to SW. I did that and they said they would be in touch.
Money was getting low so I went the CWO and recieved supplementary payments.

A few weeks later I recieved a letter from my CWO stating that the payments had to stop because I missed a date. Went to SW to suss things out and the lady said I missed a date. I told her that I came here every time I was asked and proceeded to ask her to either bring me a letter that SW sent to me or the person telling me to be there by a certain date. She shrugged me off saying your claim is closed and there is nothing I can do about it, go start a new one.

Opened a new claim in April that same day after the first one being closed and this time round I was told that I did not have enough tax credits from 2007 and I would be means tested.
On May 5th went for the interview in SW offices, after the interview I had to fill out X/O for casual employment back to the date I was let go back in December and another form (I think a up15) showing my earnings for the past 13 weeks.

The day after this I had to go to hospital for a few days. I rang up SW about getting my casual dockets and that I would have difficulty in getting them to them by the 14 days outline by the officer as I just had an operation and was not very mobile but still the sent out letters saying if I did not hand in the required documents my claim would be cancelled again even though I rang them telling them I had an operation and I would not be able to get these forms done for them in time.

After all this I went on Illness Benifit and was told by a senior deciding officer in SW that once I came off IB that everything would be sorted and that I would go straight onto JA, this was not the case. I was also told that because I didn't have enough credits I would have to claim my IB off my local health centre.

After I came off IB I went to my CWO who advised me that she couldn't pay me as my JA claim was closed on the day I went for my interview and that I had to open a new claim to recieve payments again. Anyway opened my third claim a few weeks ago so hopefully I will get something off them now soon with all my back pay.

Sorry for the big long rant but it just annoyed me that when you go to the SW to get your 204.30 a week why does it have to be such an ordeal, you would think at this stage that the people in social welfare know what they are doing.

Krieg

Social Welfare Office:
Galway

Social Welfare Payment:
Job seekers benefit

Application Date:
May 29th

Date of means test appointment:
18th august

Weeks from Application to Payment:
N/A, no payment recieved yet, told to wait until means test.

The Davestator

I applied for for the dole (still not sure if its JSB or JSA) last friday 7th August in Drogheda and picked up my first payment today, 13th August.

Obviously very happy with that.

miec

I am still waiting but I rang the office and asked to speak to the inspector who comes out to find out when I would be interviewed, I was told that my file had not been sent from one office to the inspectors office, hence why I heard nothing, it was not their fault and the woman I spoke with said she would put a rush on the inspector to come and visit me... but after the visit from the inspector, it could be another two months before I get a payment, like IT Loser it all depends on whether I qualify, it is pretty annoying, I will wait until I hear from the inspector and then speak to the office that is deciding on my claim. The only thing that keeps me going is the back pay, it will be considerable, but having no money sucks.

Poros

Sadly, I think my husband beats all records.

Signed on - November 2008
Office - Navan, Co. Meath
Means test invitation letter - 23 June 2009
Means test interview - 1st July 2009

Still nothing!

In March we got a rejection on the grounds of habitual residence. That was absolutely wrong and we insisted on reviewing the case providing more evidence and sending a copy of our letter to FLAC and Minister of Social Affairs.

In two weeks after that got a letter that residency is fine (no apology whatsoever). We thought finally the matter is resolved...but time went on.

We wrote to the Minister asking to intervene because the waiting time was getting ridiculous. Minister acknowledged the receipt of our letter but obviously did not do anything about it.

Only in the end of June we got letter about means test.

Been there, done that on the 1st of July. The Inspector said his report for the Deciding Officer will be ready in two weeks time. We waited for 4 weeks but the case was still with the means test Inspector.

This time we called the Minister's Office. They were very sympathetic and promised to resolve the issue asap. In a couple of days got phone call back from the Office that within a couple of weeks we should be receiving a cheque. Excited and relieved....How naive! Two weeks passed - no letter of any kind. Called the welfare office to check, but the answer was that the case is still with the means test Inspector. It was the greatest shock!

Fed up with this waiting game! Guessing what else they can throw at us to delay payments and who else to complain to if the Ministry does not care...

We are coming to September soon and almost a year of waiting...

Do not believe any of their promises!

Krieg

Im waiting 3+ months now, had the interview today and was told ill need to wait another 2 months until i receive anything.
Despite how disgraceful the whole system is, I must say the people I have dealt with have been very pleasant. I was expecting large trolls behind the plated glass who make fun of your living situation and ask unnecessary personal questions at the end of which they tell you to piss of and hand out a large cheque to some guy who just entered the country that day. Although maybe the trolls are waiting for me at the next plate glass meeting

tommy21

tommy21 wrote: »

What an ordeal! I'd say call into your local TD or something, that is ridiculous. I just had to get that UP15 form filled out too. You think my P45 and P60 would be enough. Personally I think they are being told to hold back the tide lest the Welfare Service goes bankrupt by paying too much off at once.

Well I must say I'm bowled over. Submitted all requested forms on the 6th of August. Was sent a letter on the 12th of August asking for a UP15 (timesheet from last 13 weeks work to be filled out). Dropped that in by hand on the 13th August. Received letter today 19th August approving my claim. Payment starts tomorrow. Cork office Hanover st!

edit: claim was for JSB, not JSA.

who what when

Reduced to 3 day working week,
New Ross,
Job seekers benefit so no means test,
10 weeks

meganj

signed on on the 8th of June for JSA in Maynooth.

Have heard absolutely nothing, not even about means tests or anything like that, I'm starting to get really freaked out that I've not handed in a form or something!!!

Luckily, I'm not in as bad a situation as some here, as I'm going back to college in September, but still, I have worked myself into a whole heap of debt trying to go back to college as well as various other things like rent and food money. I just need the money soon!

I've heard of a few people getting their JSA after a couple of weeks in Maynooth, I'm beginning to wonder if the waiting time is so long because my OH is claiming benefit (still waiting since Feb) and that because we're both claiming it's taking longer? Or maybe I should just start making a nuisance of myself in the SW office, they won't even answer the phone for queries

lynchie

Made a claim for JB on the 23rd July in newbridge and collected my first payment today. Was worried it would take forever, but less than 4 weeks im impressed!

truecrippler

Signed on for JSA/B on 13th July.

Got call from Welfare Officer 3 weeks ago today.

Getting paid today .