Unemployment benefit is England is paid for out of Government funds . This money is from deductions taken from your salary called National Insurance contributions . These contributions began many years ago with the advent of the welfare state . They were towards the National Health Service and various benefits you could receive .

Over the years all these benefits have been revamped many times , usually for the worse . Unemployment benefit , unless it has changed again , is called Job Seekers Allowance and is in two forms . One is contribution based and not means tested and the other is means tested . If you are fired from your job it will depend on why you were fired whether you are entitled to Job Seekers Allowance ( JSA ) or not .

Firstly you will need to make a claim and fulfill the criteria to claim anyway . If you have paid enough contributions etc your claim will then be assessed for validity . One of the things that will be looked at is how come you are claiming . In other words were you sacked , made redundant or did you just leave your job .

Regulations are much tighter than years ago but I think some are the same . The benefits office will contact your employer to see why you were fired . If you have been fired for misconduct or wrong doing your claim will not be paid . It will be suspended for so long and you will have to claim the means tested benefit in the interim period if you have dependents . This will be at a reduced rate as you will only be given the minimum for yourself .

If the benefits agency discover that you have faked incompetence to get fired your claim will also be disallowed . In England people often pay into private insurance to cover them for mortgage payments in the event of losing their jobs . This too will be invalid if you are fired through your own fault .

Overall it is not really worth being fired unless it is unavoidable . Added to the problems already mentioned you will not get a good reference and future work will be harder to get . The above statements are what I believe to be the state of affairs at the moment , although things are always changing .

Learn more about this author, Ethel Smith.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Can you get unemployment insurance after being fired in the UK??
We want to hear your view. Write now!