New Style JSA

Our client failed to renew their leave (private life) due to becoming homeless, not having enough to pay a solicitor, job loss, health issues, etc. The client has since applied for a Fee Waiver (approved) and is about to submit their late application for further leave.
The client meets the criteria for contribution based/new style JSA based on previous employment. Given that this is not a public fund we have supported the client to claim JSA, however this was refused given that she did not have leave and would not be able to accept a job if she was to agree to her commitments. The refusal letter says ‘because the law says so’. Is this something you may have across when working with similar clients? Any advise on how to approach a Mandatory Reconsideration?

Contribution-based JSA (and therefore ‘new-style’) JSA isn’t subject to a right to reside/ habitual residence test as means-tested benefits are, and entitlement to it is not excluded by s.115 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, so the client’s immigration status doesn’t prevent entitlement in principle.

The stronger point might be that it is functionally impossible for your client to be a “jobseeker” given that they have an immigration position which prevents them from lawfully working.

In the old-style system, it was necessary for a claimant to be “available for work” to meet the basic conditions of entitlement and arguably your client would fail this requirement.

However the requirement has been replaced in the ‘new-style’ system with the requirement to “agree a claimant commitment”. I don’t see that there is anything preventing your client from meeting that condition, albeit that it is difficult to see how they can avoid getting sanctioned.