soon to be made redundant

Hi Guys

Not too sure where to post this question and it might be a bit long winded and all over the place but here goes.

I am a single mum and have worked with the same company for nearly 12 years, I will soon be taking voluntary redundancy and will receive a redundancy package. so here are all my questions

1. If I apply for social welfare ie dole, opf etc am I means tested or does that matter.

2. do I go straight onto job seekers allowance or to I apply for one parent family first or can I get both.

3. If i decide to rent a house ( currently living with parents) am I entitled to rent allowance or what is the prcedure there, am looking atm and have to move out soon anyway.

I obviously want to be as honest as possible and do everything above board but have even how to start, I did call citizens advice but Im more confused now than ever. They are saying I would have to rent for 6 months first before I can receive any sort of rent allowance but if that is the case I will use up a lot of my savings etc.

Thanks a mill in advance

BB.

Hello Baraboots and welcome to Ask About Money

I would suggest you have a look at the following website and it will guide you through some of your rights. I hope you get another job soon.

http://www.redundancy.ie/

You could also have a read of the sticky post at the top of this forum which is a guide for persons signing on.

As you've been working, you are probably eligible for jobseeker's benefit which is based on your PRSI contributions.
You may have to serve a period of disallowance depending on how much your redundancy is.
You can apply for both Jobseeker's Benefit and One Parent Family Payment. The latter is means-tested. When it is awarded, your Jobseeker's payment will be reduced.
You must either have been renting privately for 6 months or have been assessed as having a housing need by the local authority before you can apply for Rent Supplement.

You can find more information on Rent Supplement at [broken link removed] (follow the link on the left for Rent Supplement).

Thanks guys

Head spinning, I would ideally like to get back into the workforce ASAP but atm my daughters needs come first as its costing more to work and have her minded.

Will have a look at both websites.

Thanks again

Yeah, its a bit of a nightmare procedurally.

Basically you should do the following:

- contact your local authority and apply to go on housing list
- go to your local social welfare office and apply for Jobseekers Benefit and One Parent Family Payment. You should also apply for Back to School Clothing and Footware Allowance if your child has started school/pre-school.
- if you don't have enough money to get by at the miute, go to your Community Welfare Officer and apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance to do you until your Jobseekers/Lone Parents comes through. Any money paid by the CWO will be deducted from your Jobseekers once it has been approved.
- Once you have been assessed by your local authority, then you can find a house and apply for rent supplement.

From a Jobseekers point of view, they will expect your priority to be to find full time employment, they do not accept that your daughter comes first!!! If they believe you are restricting your search for full-time employment because of your family circumstances they will not pay you Jobseekers.

However, One Parent Family Payment does not require you to be looking for a job, but if you can keep yourself looking for, and available for, full time work, then you can get the Lone Parent payment along with half rate Jobseekers Benefit, which is obviously better for you.