How to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance while studying

Before we begin, we want to make a note that the question and answer portion of this article pre-dates the introduction of universal credit and the phasing out of both styles of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA); income based JSA and contribution based JSA. This means that if you’re trying to find out how to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance whilst studying, you would now need to make a claim for ‘new style’ JSA. You can do so as long as you fulfil the following criteria:

• Your course is not full-time.
• You’re not in receipt of other student support such as a grant or loan.
• Your course or training takes place outside of the full-time hours you’ve agreed to be available for work.

It’s important to know that if your course takes place during what would be your working hours, then you can still claim Jobseeker’s Allowance whilst studying. But you’ll need to be prepared to rearrange the hours of your course immediately or give up the course entirely if you’re offered work.

Nonetheless, most new claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance are moving to universal credit. Luckily, in some circumstances you are able to claim universal credit whilst studying. Find out more about universal credit here.

When can I claim Jobseeker’s Allowance?

So, now that you’ve found out that you can claim benefits, your next question is probably WHEN can I claim Jobseeker’s Allowance. 

Well, you’ll need to meet the following criteria. And this applies to ANYONE claiming, not just those studying. You must have:

• Worked as an employee
• Paid Class 1 National Insurance contributions recently, usually in the last 2 to 3 years. For more info on that, you can read about National Insurance contributions here.

You’ll also need to:

• Be 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 or 17 – speak to Jobcentre Plus for advice)
• Not be in full-time education
• Be available for work whenever there’s an opportunity for it
• Work less than 16 hours per week on average or not work at all
• Have no illness or disability which prevents you from working
• Live in England, Scotland or Wales

Can I claim Jobseeker’s Allowance while studying?

As noted, the initial question relating to how to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance and its answer predates recent changes to Jobseeker’s Allowance and the introduction of universal credit. However, our response still stands, which is that it’s still possible to claim JSA while studying.

So, you wanna know if you can still sign on for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) once you start this new course.

Well, there’s good news. You can still receive JSA as long as you’re not in full time study.

We gather that you’ve been given conflicting advice on what you need to do in regards to your JSA. Honestly, that’s totally normal – everyone’ll have a different experience and they’re all just tryna help you out. While the intention is noble, you need to tune them out right now. All they’re gonna do is confuse you. Remember, they don’t know absolutely everything about the state of your finances or your reasons for claiming JSA.

That’s why the best thing to do would be to seek clarification from the Jobcentre about your specific circumstances since they’re responsible for your payments. After that, if you’re still unsure then you should speak to a benefits advisor or your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Plus, you can try using a benefits calculator to figure out roughly how much you can claim.

Wanna learn more about benefits? We’ve got a load of free benefits resources here which you might find useful.