Denied Fuel Allowance due to Jobbridge

sligoface

To qualify for fuel allowance, you have to be in receipt of payment (ie: Jobseeker's Allowance) for more than 390 days. I have been unemployed since the end of May 2011. When I was unable to find work in the summer, I did a FAS course in web design from Sept-Jan to develop some more skills. Still not able to find work but I was offered a Jobbridge internship doing some website/marketing stuff which I started on July 2nd 2012.

I applied for fuel allowance last winter and was denied as I had only been unemployed for 5 months. But I thought that if I couldn't find work (which is nearly impossible in Sligo right now) that I would get it this year.

But I applied last week and was denied again, stating that I had been in payment for 325 days prior to starting Jobbridge. Nowhere on the jobbridge website does it state that your claim is restarted or changed, and in fact it states your payment is a 50 euro top up on your Jobseeker's Allowance, so your payment is not actually changed, and it is still being paid from the Dept. of Social Welfare. If I wouldn't have taken the internship, those extra three months would have made me eligible. As it stands I have lost my eligibility for the 20 euro fuel allowance by doing Jobbridge, so I am presently working 39 hours a week and I'm only 30 euro better off per week.

I have rang and spoken to someone in the regional office who was able to confirm that indeed your claim is frozen at the time you start Jobbridge as you are no longer on the live register. He admitted that as it was a new scheme, there were some areas which many people didn't know about, and he gave me an email address to write to but I just wanted to let people know about this aspect of Jobbridge. If they are thinking of taking up a position but are also close to the 390 days required for fuel allowance and are planning to apply for it, be aware that if you take the internship before the 390 days, you will be ineligible for the fuel allowance.

LegacyUser

Hi, I like to know if you are getting Job Seeker Benefit (which entitle the person for at least 9 months) and you then go on the Job bridge internship, let say after 3 months of JSB, then the JSB is frozen right? Meaning you still have 6 months credit left. So after you finish your Job bridge internship where you could not gain employment. the JSB is resumed which mean you have 6 month of credit left after the end date of the job bridge correct or is it used during the internship?

Balagan

As it stands now, JSB is frozen during the JobBridge Internship

For interns, the period in receipt of the internship allowance will be
disregarded in respect of social welfare payment and, upon completion of the
scheme, the SW claim will be resumed from the point at which they left. For
example, an individual on jobseeker’s benefit with 60 days of entitlement left
on his/her claim will still have 60 days of entitlement left when their
internship is completed if they resume their claim.http://www.jobbridge.ie/toolkit/generalguidelines.pdf

MariMel

I have actually lost my fuel allowance since i started my jobsbridge even though it explicitly says on the welfare.ie website that you retain your secondary benefits while on it. And I had been receiving it for a number of weeks before I started my jobbridge.

" You are taking part in Back to Work Allowance (BTWA), Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA), Rural Social Scheme, Tús, JobBridge, Revenue Job Assist or Community Employment and are entitled to keep your secondary benefits" (taken from section on fuel allowance on welfare.ie)

I have phoned up every day for past week and every day someone says someone else will phone me back and every day nothing!

I would go in to see them if i wasnt working mon to fri, 9 to 5 and 15 miles from the welfare office. They know I cant make it in to see them.

I was also told when I phoned that I shouldnt have gotten fuel allowance anyway as I hadnt been on JSA for 390. Again the welfare.ie website states that time spent on JSB is added to make up the 390.

"Long-term Jobseeker's Allowance (390 days) (Fuel Allowance is payable to people who have been getting a jobseeker’s payment for 390 days, if they satisfy the relevant qualifying conditions. Days of unemployment on Jobseeker's Benefit count towards the 390 days if the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim was immediately before the award of Jobseeker’s Allowance.)"

I really wish they would read their own information sometimes.

Balagan

You are entitled to time off from the internship to go to the Social Welfare Office and sort out your payment. Would suggest sending a registered letter to SW first, setting your case out and letting them know you are taking time off the internship to come to the SW office on such a date and such a time to sort it out. Include phone contact details in the letter.

Do I get time off during an Internship?
Although you are not an employee of the company you should still be given adequate
time off for attending job interviews during the placement to visit your local SW
office and Employment Services office in order to facilitate your job seeking
activities. http://www.jobbridge.ie/toolkit/faqintern.pdf