BTEA after BTWEA?

pinksoir

I have recently and unfortunately had to cease trading. I have been in receipt of the BTWEA and so far haven't been able to find any work since I closed my business in August. I suppose I'll have to go back on to JA until I do find work, though I'm not too keen on doing so.

During the time I had a business I completed a CELT qualification for English teaching. I never completed my degree, which is a requirement for teaching English both here in Ireland as well as in most other countries, but I've been in contact with UCD and it's possible for me to go back and complete my final year. I can do my second semester this academic year (starting in January '15) and my first semester next academic year (starting September '15).

Does anyone know what the story with getting BTEA would be if I can't find employment between now and January? Does the fact that I wouldn't be starting a degree from the beginning make a difference? And is it even possible for me to get BTEA after having received BTWEA?

Thanks.

pinksoir

Anyone?

DanDublin1982

pinksoir wrote: »

Anyone?

Have you discussed it with your case officer? They are best placed to advise.

pinksoir

Thanks. I've an interview tomorrow so'll ask then. I've been told (by the folks I talked to in the local office) that I need to be on JSA for 6 months prior to application, and that I probably won't qualify but to apply anyway because I could still qualify. Which basically tells me nothing. I'm confused, because on the Citizens Info site it says this:

citizensinformation.ie wrote:

Satisfying the qualifying period
You do not have to have been getting your qualifying payment continuously. Periods spent on other qualifying social welfare payments (or getting credits) that are not broken by more than 12 months (52 weeks) can be used to determine whether you satisfy the qualifying period criteria. You must always be getting a qualifying payment immediately before starting your course.

Time spent on the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA), Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), full-time FET (formerly FÁS) or Failte Ireland training courses, FIT, Community Employment schemes, Part-time Job Incentive scheme, Gateway, Community Services Programme, Rural Social Scheme, TÚS, Workplace Placement Scheme (WPP), Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, Short Term Enterprise Allowance, Job Initiative, Job Assist and JobBridge may count towards the qualifying period for BTEA purposes. This provision only applies where you have an underlying entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment immediately before you start your course of study.

BTWEA, according to this, may count towards the qualifying period for BTEA purposes. That is incredibly vague.

pinksoir

OK, I asked my case officer about it. She couldn't tell me anything. Quite literally. Based on the language in the text I quoted above, I can't tell if my situation would entitle me to BTEA and it seems no one in my local SWO knows anything about it.

I was receiving JSB for over 2 years before my BTWEA and was receiving my BTWEA payments for the last two years. Lost money overall with my business. Can anyone advise?

Rubberchikken

sorry no advice. but i'm not surprised at the lack of knowledge of these people in the social welfare office .
they really don't have a clue half the time what they're doing. how they get employed there is anyone's guess.
could you go back to the sw office and see if someone else might have some clue?

pinksoir

I've so far spoken to three different people (queued each time, obviously), each of which hasn't had a clue and basically told me to "just go ahead and apply" for the BTEA. There's apparently someone in the office that handles the BTEA stuff, but I can't get any information about who it is I should be talking to. Each time it's someone different and none of them have any idea about what my entitlement is given my situation. I'm not surprised tbh. One of the people I spoke to asked, no joke, why I don't wait until next year (9 months +) to go back to UCD and apply for BTEA then as I would definitely get it because I would have been on JSA for the required 9 months!

I've found this thread on boards from 2012: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056694808

Post #6 seems to quote the Citizens Information site, and it would appear that my situation entitles me to BTEA. However, it seems that that particular wording is no longer employed on the CI site, so I am unsure whether they have changed it. It's completely unclear.

What does "may count towards the qualifying period for BTEA purposes" precisely mean? Does it mean it 'does' count towards it, or does it mean that it's open to interpretation?

I'm getting stressed now because I have to enrol in UCD next week and as such will have to apply for BTEA. If I am refused I'll be screwed.

cee_jay

Why don't you contact BTEA section in Carrick On Shannon?
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/back_to_education/back_to_education_allowance.html

cee_jay

From the Operational Guidelines for BTEA:

Other Schemes that count towards the qualifying period for BTEA

Periods spent on the BTEA, Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), SOLAS/FAS full-time Training Course, FIT, Community Employment Scheme, JST, Part-time Job Incentive Scheme, Community Services Programme, Rural Social Scheme, Tús, National Internship, Gateway, WPP, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance or Short-term Enterprise Allowance, may count towards the qualifying period for BTEA purposes. This provision applies only in cases where the BTEA applicant has an underlying entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment immediately prior to commencement of their course. In the case where a person drops out of one of these schemes, a case officer should may recommend BTEA as better intervention. QA's on these schemes are not eligible for BTEA.

http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Back-to-Education-Allowance-Scheme.aspx

Basically, if you have ceased BTW, and are in receipt of JSA prior to commencing your course, BTW will count towards the qualifying period.

pinksoir

Thanks for the reply. That section title clears things up a bit.

I'm annoyed because I was told by two different people (on two different occasions) in my SWO that I don't qualify because I "had been working for the past two years and hadn't been unemployed for a period of 9 months" which is quite clearly wrong. That kind of carry on is misleading and very unprofessional.

Anyway, next stop UCD!

cee_jay

I would ask your SWO why you don't qualify, and question based on the above excerpt from the guidelines. The guidelines just answer one part of the qualification criteria - does BTW count towards BTEA qualification. However, there are many other reasons why BTEA may be disallowed. If you are contacting your Local Office, there is normally a BTEA section who would be the experts and the correct people to direct your question. Otherwise, you can ring Carrick on Shannon.

pinksoir

Cheers. They said I didn't qualify because I had been on BTWEA. As far as I can tell I meet all the other criteria on the CI and SW sites, so that was the only thing I was unclear on.

I'll call Carrick on Shannon tomorrow anyway.

Thanks again.