The Jobseekers Act 1995
c 18 is an
Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which empowers the government to provide unemployment income insurance, or "
Jobseeker's Allowance" while people are looking for work.
In its current form, jobseeker's allowance is available without any
means testing
A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government benefits, assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do with less or none of that help. Means testing is i ...
(i.e., inquiry into people's income or assets) for people who have paid into the
National Insurance
National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...
fund in at least the last two years. People can claim this for up to 182 days. After this, one's income and assets are means tested.
If people do not have enough in National Insurance Contributions (e.g., because they have just left school or university), the other kind of
Jobseeker's allowance, income-based, is being phased out and replaced by
universal credit
Universal Credit is a United Kingdom based Welfare state in the United Kingdom, social security payment. It is Means test, means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits, for working-age households with a low income: income-related Emp ...
, started by the
Welfare Reform Act 2012
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which makes changes to the rules concerning a number of benefits offered within the Welfare state in the United Kingdom, British ...
. This requires means-testing.
Contents
Part I, sections 1 to 25 concern the Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Claimants need to be "actively seeking work", which means taking at least three steps each week, rather than completing every action listed in the claimant commitment.
Part II, sections 26 to 29 concern Back to Work Schemes.
Part III, sections 30 to 41 are Miscellaneous and Supplemental provisions.
See also
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UK labour law
United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK have a minimum set of employment rights, from Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equity (legal concept), equity. ...
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Unemployment in the United Kingdom
Unemployment in the United Kingdom is measured by the Office for National Statistics. As of February 2024, the U.K. unemployment rate is 3.8%, down from 3.9% in January.
In the three-month figures (July to September 2022) the unemployment rate ...
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Universal credit
Universal Credit is a United Kingdom based Welfare state in the United Kingdom, social security payment. It is Means test, means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits, for working-age households with a low income: income-related Emp ...
References
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Unemployment in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom labour law