what happens if i can't make a signing on appointment?

A question about : what happens if i can't make a signing on appointment?

it's such a daft thing to be freaking about but with all the uproar about benefits claimants lately i'm actually a bit scared!

i signed on for the first time last week, i'm going to be away for the next signing on appointment. i did try and tell the guy i signed with last week but was told to sign a bit of paper and go, no discussion allowed :rolleyes:

i seem to remember a few years ago when i was signing on when i went on holiday i had to declare i wasn't available to jobhunt and didn't get the money for the amount of time i was away. is it still like this? i'm only hitching a lift to cornwall and camping with mates, it's not an extravagent holiday , but i'm nervous that they'll stop my benefits altogether which would be really bad right now!

thanks in advance

Best answers:

• just ring them on the day and pull a sickie, cant be that bad and who would know.
• Pull a sickie, they could stop your payment but if you phone up they should tell you if payment will get stopped
• Shouldn't you be job searching rather than going on holiday? I know if I were unemployed I'd be working 24/7 finding a job, not claiming benfits whilst on the beach!
• Maybe it could be cancelled?
• i'm asking if it's still the case that you don't recieve JSA for the amount of time you're away (ie - not jobseeking). please read my original post, i am not implying i should be getting money for going on holiday. lighten up for gawd's sake :rolleyes: and for the record i have been unemployed for the last 6 months without claiming benefits, again in my original post it says i signed on very recently, please read things properly before you jump on people :rolleyes:
  #1+#2 - thanks for the advice but i'm not pulling a sickie , i'd rather be straight with them. they've not answered the phone today so i guess i'll go down in person tomorrow and have a word with them.
• I got told you have to sign off and then sign back on again when you come back from holiday.
• Telephone your job centre and ask. I suggest you call early in the morning, before they are busy and before the staff have had time to get more grumpy than usual.
  So long as you are still available for work and would return from holiday immediately to take up any job if one were offered, you are allowed to go away once a year. You would probably be expected to sign at a job centre near to where you are staying: obviously this needs to be arranged in advance.
  If you just miss signing then your claim is likely to be cancelled, which means that you would have to go through the whole complicated process of claiming all over again when you get back. If you "pull a sicky" you may well be told to come in first thing the next morning, which might cause problems.
• If you are ill on the day you are due to sign, you should call with as much notice as you can and the chances are that you will be asked to sign the next time as usual (it is highly unlikely that you will be asked to go in "the next day" as the times etc are allocated). You are allowed two "periods of sickness".
  I am not condoning pretending to be sick to take a previously arranged holiday but can understand why people may "phone in sick" when it happens. Life's tough enough IMO.
• You will have to complete a "going away from home " booklet that will show where you are staying and how you will be 'available for work' during your holiday.
  As it's in the UK you should be OK, provided that you give Jobcentre advance notice.
  Call the Jobcentre well before you go and get this completed before you miss your signing day.
• I work in JSA and if you be honest and tell them that you will be away (in the UK) and whilst away even though on a camping holiday you can still be treated as actively seeking and being available for work.
  Providing of course you attempt to look for work whilst away.
• so what are you saying if you go on holiday your payments stop, waht about the people on incapacity, if they go on holiday are they fit for work too.....what if you book the holiday before you find out your outta work.........cant he sign on over the phone or even in cornwall its not like hes gone on a cruise or sunbathing it up in a foreign country!
• You are allowed two weeks 'holiday' in the UK per rolling year if you are on JSA.
  Just go in and tell them the dates and sign the requisite form, they will need a contact number for you and you should still get your money.