This is a bit longwinded, but please bear with me!
My husband has been on JSB for 10 months (he's actually on the Back to Education Allowance). He's now planning to start his own business, so we're looking at the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, (will apply when he's been 12 months on JSB). We need to have an entitlement to JSA to qualify for this scheme.
I am employed, on €30,000, working 3 days a week (only 17 hours so don't qualify for FIS). But I'm currently on maternity leave (have 3 children in total), getting maternity benefit. My benefit runs out 1 week before my husband's JSB runs out.
If I go back to work when my paid leave runs out, my husband will have to mind the kids and won't have enough time to get his business going. If I take 16 weeks unpaid maternity leave, and possibly another 14 weeks unpaid parental leave, I could mind the kids and give him a chance to get the business up and running, before I have to go back. But he won't have any hope of income for a few months, (as he has to develop his product), so we can't afford to do this unless he qualifies for the BTWEA.
We can't manage long-term on just my salary (we have some savings but they won't last long), so we need him to be earning something.
Is there any chance that Welfare will look at the long-term scenario, and accept our application for JSA based on me not earning anything for up to 7 months, or are they likely to tell me to get back to work asap?
We will obviously talk to them, but I'm just wondering are we being totally unrealistic, and is it even worth a try?
Thanks for reading all this, would really appreciate any opinions.
My husband has been on JSB for 10 months (he's actually on the Back to Education Allowance). He's now planning to start his own business, so we're looking at the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, (will apply when he's been 12 months on JSB). We need to have an entitlement to JSA to qualify for this scheme.
I am employed, on €30,000, working 3 days a week (only 17 hours so don't qualify for FIS). But I'm currently on maternity leave (have 3 children in total), getting maternity benefit. My benefit runs out 1 week before my husband's JSB runs out.
If I go back to work when my paid leave runs out, my husband will have to mind the kids and won't have enough time to get his business going. If I take 16 weeks unpaid maternity leave, and possibly another 14 weeks unpaid parental leave, I could mind the kids and give him a chance to get the business up and running, before I have to go back. But he won't have any hope of income for a few months, (as he has to develop his product), so we can't afford to do this unless he qualifies for the BTWEA.
We can't manage long-term on just my salary (we have some savings but they won't last long), so we need him to be earning something.
Is there any chance that Welfare will look at the long-term scenario, and accept our application for JSA based on me not earning anything for up to 7 months, or are they likely to tell me to get back to work asap?
We will obviously talk to them, but I'm just wondering are we being totally unrealistic, and is it even worth a try?
Thanks for reading all this, would really appreciate any opinions.