what is the jobseeker s allowance jsa 
the jobseeker s allowance jsa is a benefit for unemployed individuals in the u k who are actively seeking work the allowance is intended to help minimize the cost of living for those seeking full time employment understanding the jobseeker s allowance jsa the jobseeker s allowance is a conditions based benefit meaning recipients must meet certain conditions in order to retain eligibility for payments applicants who have had previous employment must submit a copy of their p45 form from their last employer the p45 lists information about previous income and the total taxes paid by the employee the main requirement for receiving the jsa is the recipient must provide proof on an ongoing basis that they are actively looking for employment this condition was introduced to prevent unemployment benefits from becoming too easily available and accessible 1precursors to the jsathe first unemployment benefits in the u k were paid in 1911 with the passage of the national insurance act the act covered 2 5 million workers and payments were intended as a supplement to other sources of income 2high unemployment rates following the end of world war i led to the creation of the unemployment insurance act of 1920 this provided weekly unemployment benefits for 15 weeks 2in 1921 the government introduced the seeking work test as a condition to receive benefits the test required recipients to show they were genuinely seeking employment and willing to accept any job paying a reasonable wage unemployment benefits have continued to evolve over the years leading to the jobseeker s allowance 2eligibility for the jsathe jobseeker s allowance is available to an individual who has the right to work in the u k and lives in england scotland or wales they must be under the state pension age but older than 18 although some 16 or 17 year old workers may qualify they must be available for work not a full time student and not be working more than 16 hours per week 3the jsa recipient must sign on at jobcentre plus every two weeks allowing the jobcentre to assess whether sufficient efforts are being made to secure employment benefits may be stopped if the jobcentre determines the claimant is not fulfilling their job seeking obligations is failing to attend interviews or is turning down offers of employment or training 3a jobseeker s allowance calculator is available on the u k government website types of jsathere are three types of jobseeker s allowance new style jsa contribution based jsa and income based jsa individuals who ve worked for two to three years and have paid class 1 national insurance contributions are eligible for the new style jsa payments last for six months and the income and savings of the recipient s partner do not impact their benefits 3the contribution based jsa is available for those who receive or who are entitled to receive severe disability premiums in addition they must have also paid class 1 national insurance contributions over the past two to three years 3the income based jsa is for those who receive or who are entitled to receive severe disability premiums but haven t worked over the past two to three years the recipient must have 16 000 or less in savings including the recipient s partner s savings in addition the claimant s partner cannot be working more than 24 hours per week 3