Part-Time Work & Back To Education Allowance

matchboxyouth

Hi,

I'm currently in my third year of college and will be enrolling for my fourth year this September. I've been receiving the BTEA for each of those previous years. This summer I was hoping to find some work to hopefully help with my rent for the year. The job will only be for the summer as I'll be moving away again for college, and therefore unemployed again. Would anyone know what my situation is there?
From what I've been reading if I work full-time during the summer, I will be ineligible for the BTEA in September, is this correct? How about if it was part time work, would this make me still ineligible. The Citizens Information site seems to only mention work during the college year.

Squatter

matchboxyouth wrote: »

Hi,

From what I've been reading if I work full-time during the summer, I will be ineligible for the BTEA in September,

What information did you read that led you to that conclusion?

matchboxyouth wrote: »

The Citizens Information site seems to only mention work during the college year.

This extract from the Citizens Information website suggests to me that you are almost expected to find a summer job!

"If you were getting a jobseeker’s payment before going back to education, your BTEA is not paid over the summer months period between academic years. (It will be paid from the start of the new academic year provided you continue to satisfy the eligibility criteria.)

If you are not able to find work during the summer period, you may be entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance. You must meet all the conditions, including being capable of work, available for work and genuinely looking for work. If you claim Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) and work part-time your earnings are assessed against your JA."

matchboxyouth

Well it says on Citizens Advice,"In general, to qualify for the BTEA you must be over 21, or over 24 for postgraduate courses - see also 'Age limits' below - and have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment."

Therefore if I were to be working full time from June until the start of September, that would disqualify me from the BTEA in September it looks like but I'm not sure? Does anyone have experience in this particular situation?

Squatter

matchboxyouth wrote: »

Well it says on Citizens Advice,"In general, to qualify for the BTEA you must be over 21, or over 24 for postgraduate courses - see also 'Age limits' below - and have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment."

Therefore if I were to be working full time from June until the start of September, that would disqualify me from the BTEA in September it looks like but I'm not sure? Does anyone have experience in this particular situation?

But you have already qualified for BTEA? So why would you need to qualify again, assuming that you're still on the same course?

matchboxyouth

Squatter wrote: »

But you have already qualified for BTEA? So why would you need to qualify again, assuming that you're still on the same course?

Well I guess my thinking is that if I find work for the summer, they may see this as finding a means to support myself for the following year, when it won't even get me as far as Christmas I reckon. I've emailed Welfare.ie directly to see what they say, hopefully they reply!

matchboxyouth

Squatter wrote: »

But you have already qualified for BTEA? So why would you need to qualify again, assuming that you're still on the same course?

I just received a reply from Welfare.ie and it says I must re-establish my entitlement...


"All Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) participants with eligibility based on a qualifying payment must re-establish their entitlement to the qualifying payment at the beginning of each and subsequent academic year. The conditionality attached to the qualifying payment must be examined at the beginning of each academic year in order for BTEA to be approved.

From 2016/17 academic year, BTEA participants, who take up part-time work within the academic year, inclusive of summer employment will be assessed in accordance with their primary payment on return to Back to Education. The amount awarded thereafter will be adjusted accordingly."

So what I take that from that is if I work full time, I will be disqualified. I could be wrong but it looks that way.

Squatter

matchboxyouth wrote: »

I just received a reply from Welfare.ie and it says I must re-establish my entitlement...

"All Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) participants with eligibility based on a qualifying payment must re-establish their entitlement to the qualifying payment at the beginning of each and subsequent academic year. The conditionality attached to the qualifying payment must be examined at the beginning of each academic year in order for BTEA to be approved.

From 2016/17 academic year, BTEA participants, who take up part-time work within the academic year, inclusive of summer employment will be assessed in accordance with their primary payment on return to Back to Education. The amount awarded thereafter will be adjusted accordingly."

So what I take that from that is if I work full time, I will be disqualified. I could be wrong but it looks that way.

Thanks for the clarification. I always assumed that once you has been deemed eligible for BTEA your eligibility would continue until you had finished the nominated course - unless you had to repeat a year.

Do you read that as meaning that you will be means tested on your summer earnings to see whether you're still eligible for whatever SW payment you were originally on when you got BTEA?

ttsnar

If you sign off to work for the summer you just make sure you reapply for Jobseekers Allowance at least a week before you start college. As your claim will link you will be transferred back to your back to education claim as soon as you start college. The important thing is to sign back on before starting. You will not be means tested on the earnings you made in the summer unless it is over 20000 grand and if it is let me know what job it is, I might apply myself;

matchboxyouth

ttsnar wrote: »

If you sign off to work for the summer you just make sure you reapply for Jobseekers Allowance at least a week before you start college. As your claim will link you will be transferred back to your back to education claim as soon as you start college. The important thing is to sign back on before starting. You will not be means tested on the earnings you made in the summer unless it is over 20000 grand and if it is let me know what job it is, I might apply myself;

Wow, really? Is this from personal experience? I've been reading on the Citizens Information page and it says:
"For third-level courses you must have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment (see above) for 9 months (234 paid or credited days of unemployment). You must be getting the qualifying payment immediately before you start the course."

It then follows this by saying and just to make it slightly confusing:

"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."

What exactly do they mean? My understanding is that yes, you need to be receiving a social welfare payment before you start college but where it says you need to have been getting the payment for nine months. Is that before you start the college year, or just in the last few years?

LegacyUser

The repeat claim you make when you come back before college links to your back to education claim, therefore you satisfy the conditions. I deal with this every day.