JSA definitions

Disclaimer: Although we try to keep our information up to date, regulations change frequently and individual situations may need different solutions. Also, we cannot take responsibility for the content of any websites that are suggested on these pages. It is always best to get independent advice from trained and experienced advisers.

NB. These notes are intended to be general guidelines and should not be taken as advice. There are complex regulations and special schemes operating in some pilot areas or for some groups of people. Regulations may also be changed at short notice or the interpretation may differ between areas. If you are on a New Deal programme or considering joining one, the arrangements for education and training are different. It is important to always get advice from a college or other advisor about your own situation.

If you are claiming JSA as an unemployed person, the Employment Services (ES) will use the following definitions to decide whether you are entitled to benefit.

If you are involved in a New Deal scheme, some of these definitions may still apply but you should get independent advice on the best options for you and how the education and training option will be applied.

The definition of guided learning hours used by the ES is taken directly from the funding guidelines of the Learning and Skills Council (in England). Guided learning hours are:

"all times when a member of staff is present to give specific guidance towards the qualification or module being studied on a programme.This includes lectures, tutorials, and supervised study in, for example, open learning centres and learning workshops. It also includes time spent by staff assessing students' achievements, for example in the assessment of competence for NVQs. It does not include hours where supervision or assistance is of a general nature and is not specific to the study of the students."

Providers should only include as guided learning hours, "supervision or assistance where provided by a member of staff able to give specific support to the student. General study time, for example, in a library, should not be included, even though a member of staff is in attendance."

Time which you may be required to spend on unpaid work experience does not count as guided learning hours, unless a member of staff from your college or course provider is present to give specific guidance towards the qualification or to assess your achievements.

This definition does not apply to New Deal programmes.

All publicly funded colleges and course providers must provide a Learning Agreement for each student. The Agreement should include the following information:

• the number of weekly "guided learning hours" ; and
  
  
• the name of the college/course provider; and
  
  
• the signature and position of someone signing on behalf of the college/course provider;and
  
  
• your signature

It may also include information about attendance and the amount of work required.

When course providers calculate the number of weekly guided learning hours for each student, they should use an average of the annual number of hours.

"the number of guided learning hours per week should be calculated by dividing the total number of planned guided learning hours for the student's programme in the period 1 August 1996 to 31 July 1997 by the number of weeks over which the programme is delivered in the same period. Only the weeks in which guided learning hours are actually delivered, including those in which examinations take place, may be counted as programme weeks for the purposes of this calculation".

It is essential that your actual course hours leave you sufficient time to actively seek work in each week. It is also important that you use the official Learning Agreement as evidence, for the Employment Service, of the part-time status of your course.

Warning! If the weekly figure on the Learning Agreement is calculated as an average, it may be different from the hours shown on your timetable. Do not take your timetable to Employment Services.

Although your course may lead to qualifications, skills and experience which could help you find work, the ES will not accept your attendance on the course as an "active step" towards finding a job. You are expected to carry out a list of active steps each week to find work, in addition to attending your course. Steps include applying for jobs by letter or telephone, getting information about possible jobs from employers, registered employment agencies and advertisements in newspapers and preparing a CV. These steps will be listed in your Jobseeker's Agreement.

Although your course cannot be a step towards finding work, it is accepted that you may have slightly less time to look for work while you are attending a course. "Any time during which (you are) participating as a part-time student in an employment related course.......shall be taken into account in determining whether (you have) taken sufficient steps to meet the entitlement condition".

An employment related course is defined in the JSA rules as "a course the purpose of which is to assist persons to acquire or enhance skills required for employment, for seeking employment or for a particular occupation".

You will have to sign a document called the Jobseeker's Agreement when you first sign on as a condition of receiving benefit. The Agreement includes:

• the hours you are available for work;
  
  
• any restriction you are allowed to place on the work you are prepared to do;
  
  
• the type of job you are looking for;
  
  
• the steps you will take to actively seek work; and
  
  
• a statement of your rights if you and the Employment Service adviser cannot agree about what should be in the Agreement.

To be regarded as available for work, you must be willing and able to take any employment at once. In some cases, you do not have to be available immediately, for example, if you have caring responsibilities or are doing voluntary work. You are allowed to place restrictions on the sort of job you are prepared to take, for example, the pay you will accept (for the first six months of your claim only), the type of work you will do or where you are willing to work, so long as you can show that you still have a reasonable chance of getting a job. For up to 13 weeks at the beginning of your claim, you can be allowed to concentrate your search for work on vacancies in your normal occupation.

If you are a disabled person, you can also restrict the hours in which you are available for work.

You need to provide a contact number for the college or course provider where a message can reach you at all times when you attend the course. You should also find out what facilities exist for you to catch up on missed work if you do need to take time off to go to an interview or another ES scheme.

If you cannot satisfy ES that you are willing to give up your part-time course immediately for a job, you need to be able to re-arrange your course to fit in with a job, for example, by doing evening classes or an open learning course.

You will be expected to agree a pattern of at least 40 hours each week during which you will be available for work This pattern will be recorded on your Jobseeker's Agreement. The pattern of 40 hours must "afford you reasonable prospects of securing employment".

In practice, your pattern of availability will depend on your previous employment and on the work you are currently looking for. For example, if you worked in a shop previously, the ES adviser may insist that your pattern of availability includes Saturdays. If you are looking for work in the catering industry or in the area of performing arts, you may be required to be available in the evenings.

If you are studying and the hours of your course fall outside your pattern of availability as entered on your Jobseeker's Agreement, your benefit should not be affected so long as you are not a full-time student. You are allowed to study or train during your pattern of availability providing you are:

• a part-time student for the purposes of JSA
  
  
• willing and able to take time off the course to attend an interview; and
  
  
• able to be contacted promptly while you attend the course; and
  
  
• willing or able to re-arrange the hours of the course to fit in with employment; or prepared to abandon your study or training at once to take up any employment.