Help understanding JSA means test as applied to my case

Ravelleman

This week my cohabiting partner moved from JSB to JSA. I was a Qualified Adult on her previous payment.

She received a letter explaining the means test that was applied to her case today. In the section on 'Means from Civil Partner/Cohabitant's Insurable Employment' it seems that they have vastly overestimated my average weekly income, something which I can demonstrate to them through documentation. The result is that her payment, with me as a QA also, has been vastly reduced.

I work for two hours per week in a casual role, while in full-time education. I submit claim forms for these hours and am paid in the calendar month following submission of the forms. On 1st December I was paid for eight hours of work, carried out over a five-week period beginning at the end of September and ending at the end of October. My next claim form is currently being processed - in this case I expect to be paid again on 1st February as I missed the cutoff for January payment.

In the means test, which applies from 1st December (the same day I was paid), the deciding officer took the figure that I was paid for the work I carried out over that period of five weeks as my average weekly income. This amounted to a little over €300. In reality, over these five weeks, my average weekly income was approximately €60.

Is there a reason they have taken the figure of €300+ as my average weekly income? The result is that our combined weekly means have been overestimated by about €150.

In the letter it says that this amount has been divided by 1 in order to calculate it. However, this is not at all representative of what I actually earn as on 1st December I was paid for those five weeks of work between end of September and end of October. I have not been paid since, nor will I be until my next casual claim is processed, in which case the amount with be 6/8 of the previous total as I only worked for 6 hours in that period.

So, to put it basically, is this the correct process for calculating a person's means? As it stands, it seems that they believe that I am earning a yearly salary of €16,400, when in actual fact, this job is only going to pay me €1,000 in total before I finish at the end of March!

mp22

Step one appeal.
Perhaps the officer took your monthly pay slip as a weekly one.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/irish_social_welfare_system/social_welfare_appeals.html

Ravelleman

I suspect so also, though wondered if there was some kind of precedent for this of which I was unaware.

My partner and I have found the whole experience utterly opaque.

As a first port of call, I believe that we can appeal in the local Intreo office. I will bring a(nother) letter outlining the circumstances of my employment, making the nature of the payslip absolutely clear, in addition to a letter highlighting the mistake. I hope that this will be sufficient.