Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 141

Entitlement to assistance

Section 141 sets out the eligibility conditions for jobseeker's allowance, including age requirements, means testing, waiting days, how couples' means are assessed, and what constitutes a day of unemployment.

• To qualify, a person must be aged 18 to pensionable age, prove their unemployment (which may be done electronically), and have weekly means not exceeding the allowance they would receive if they had no means at all.
• Jobseeker's allowance is not payable for the first three waiting days of any continuous period of unemployment, and any period before the claim date or during disqualification does not count towards continuous unemployment.
• Where a claimant's spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant receives certain social welfare payments (under Part 6 or specified categories), the claimant's means are calculated at half the couple's total means.
• A day only counts as unemployment if the person is capable of work, available for employment, and genuinely seeking but unable to find suitable work.