Back to Education Allowance

Hopefully someone here might know the answer to this -

last August I became unemployed and have been on Jobseekers Benefit since. I have been thinking lately of doing some kind of diploma in September and applying for the back to ed allowance. In order to qualify you must be in receipt of one of the following social welfare payments for at least 6 months (156 days) for Second Level Option (SLO) and 12 months (312 days) for Third Level Option (TLO). TLO may be approved at 9 months (234 days) if the BTEA applicant is a participant in the NEAP process (see Special Provisions)
- Jobseeker's Allowance
- Jobseekers Benefit
- Farm Assist
- One-Parent Family Payment
- Deserted Wife's Allowance
- Deserted Wife's Benefit
- Widow's/Widower's Non-Contributory Pension
- Widow's/Widower's Contributory Pension
- Prisoners Wife's Allowance
- Carer's Allowance (in cases where the Carer has ceased cring responsibilities on a temporary basis)

I would be looking at the third level option.

My question is this - any course I would like to do will not start until September. If I am still unemployed my claim will run out in August when I will have to claim for credits (won't meet the means test for jobseekers allowance). So would I therefore be ineligible for BTEA in September? (signing for credits is not on the list). If so, might I try to get part-time work in between now and then so that my current claim is active come September and hopefully be considered for BTEA?

If you get a part-time job (and stop claiming Jobseeker's Benefit), then you may not meet the 12 month criteria for qualifying for Back to Education Allowance.

If you became unemployed in August, I am wondering why your claim for JB runs out in August. Should it not run to November.

If you get a part-time job, say 2 or 3 days a week and continue to claim JB for the other days each week. This would mean that you would remain on Jb over a longer period and therefore still qualify

Entitlement to JB is dependant on PRSI contributions paid and can run out after 312 days (12 months), hence the August - August claim.

If a person claims JB part-time and works part-time, the total number of days claimed goes up more slowly (e.g. signing for 3 days per week instead of 6 days per week) so the total required to qualify for Back to Education (312 days) may still not be met by Aug/September next.

I found this on the www.welfare.ie site which would seem to indicate that yopu can qualify for BTEA when on credits.


"Qualifying for BTEA from "credits only":
Back to Education Allowance participants who were in receipt of "credits only" on commencement of Back to Education Allowance may satisfy the contribution conditions for Jobseekers Benefit on the commencement of a new Governing Contribution Year. These participants are entitled to receive Back to Education Allowance from the date on which these conditions are satisfied. "

Thanks for your replies.

I think I will try and do the part-time thing & hope I qualify.

Welfarite - regarding the CGY & credits, I don't think I qualify there as I was out of the country for the current for the current CGY - the only reason I qualify for jobseekers benefit was because I applied in August met that years (2007) CGY requirements.

Check out what happens if you get sick and send in certs for a short while, and then become unemployed for a least 3 monthe before September. (worked for me a few years ago but they are always changing the regulations)

CatsCradle said:

Welfarite - regarding the CGY & credits, I don't think I qualify there as I was out of the country for the current for the current CGY - the only reason I qualify for jobseekers benefit was because I applied in August met that years (2007) CGY requirements.

Click to expand...

I wasn't thinking of GCY in this r4egard. What I meant was that it would seem from reading this that a person on credits would qualify for BTEA, which would be the case if you exhausted your entitlement to benefit after 312 days. However, I have discovered since that post that you would only get credits and no payment so that's not much use to you other than keeping up your PRSI record for future claims!

As Ger says thoough, if you happened to fall ill between now adn August, adn claimed Illness Benefit, this would be added to the qualifying period.

I quote from here:

"When determining if a claimant satisfies the 6 month/9 month/12 month condition, the Jobseekers Allowance (JA) linking rule i.e. 52 weeks applies to all relevant Social Welfare payments that qualify a person for participation in the BTEA scheme. Periods spent on other relevant Social Welfare Payments, that are not broken by more thsn 12 months (52 weeks), can be used in determining if an applicant satisfies the qualifying period criteria."

As it happens, I've seen a part-time job offered a few hours drive from where I am so I might apply - it's only 10 hours a week spread over 3 days (4-4-2).

Would anyone happen to know how welfare would calculate this regarding paid UB days?

If you decide to work 3 days then you will be claiming JB for the other 3 days each week so the number of (JB) days you have left at present will reduce by 3 days for each week worked. e.g. if you have 100 days left on JB now and you work 3 days next week you then have 97 days left, the following 94 days left and so on until your 312 days are used up.

you could ask about FAS courses and CE schemes, these might still count as unemployment for the purposes of the calculation.