What to do, in order
You have lost your job. Here is the first week.
Redundancy, dismissal or a contract that ended. There are two claims to make, one of them in the first few days, and a payment most people never find out they were owed.
Do these first
Not because they are the most important, but because they run out. Everything further down the page will still be there next week.
Claim New Style Jobseeker's Allowance straight away
This one is based on the National Insurance you have already paid, not on your savings or your partner's income. If you have worked and paid Class 1 contributions in the last two to three tax years you can get it even with money in the bank. It pays for up to six months.
Claim from your first day out of work. It is not usually backdated.
Check your final payslip against what you are owed
Notice pay, untaken holiday, and statutory redundancy pay if you had two years' service. Redundancy pay is worked out from your age, your years of service and your weekly pay, and it is tax free up to £30,000.
If your employer will not pay, a tribunal claim is normally six months less a day from the date your job ended.
Then, when you have a moment
Claim Universal Credit as well if money is tight
New Style JSA and Universal Credit can be claimed together; the JSA counts as income against the UC, but claiming both usually leaves you better off than either alone. UC does look at savings, and over £16,000 rules it out.
Tell your council you are out of work
Council Tax Reduction is a separate scheme that every council runs its own way, and it is not automatic even if you claim Universal Credit. Ask by name.
Check whether a mortgage or loan was covered
Some mortgages, credit cards and car finance carry payment protection for redundancy that people forget they bought. Look at the paperwork before you miss a payment, not after.
Tell anyone you owe money to, before you miss a payment
A missed payment costs you far more than a phone call. Priority bills first: rent or mortgage, council tax, energy, court fines.
What people are not usually told
- New Style JSA does not care about your savings or your partner's wages. Thousands of people who could claim it never do because they assume they are 'not entitled to anything'.
- Claiming JSA also protects your National Insurance record, which matters for your State Pension even if the money itself is small.
- If your employer has gone under, the government pays your redundancy, notice and holiday pay directly. You claim from the Insolvency Service, not from the company.
Now check the rest of it
The full check runs through more than fifty benefits, discounts and grants against what has changed. It takes about three minutes, it stays in your browser, and nothing is sent to us or to anybody else.
Only the DWP, HMRC, your council or the NHS can decide what you get. This tells you what to ask for.