Help available for young people in Highlands with cost of starting new job
Young people returning to work are being urged to check if they are eligible for Job Start Payment.
More than 1,000 young people have already benefited from this support since it launched in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s more than £277,000 invested so far in helping those whose job prospects have been hardest hit over the past year.
Many businesses will be recruiting again as restrictions lessen in many local authority areas, and 16-24 year olds beginning or returning to work may be eligible for money to help with the cost of starting a new job.
Job Start Payment is now £252.50, or £404 if the applicant has children and is available to young people who have been on certain benefits for six months or more.
Money can be spent on anything they need including travel costs, new clothes or childcare.
Latest figures cover the period from 17 August 2020, when Job Start Payment launched, to 31 March 2021.
People can apply for Job Start Payment for up to three months after their start date.
The public can find out more and apply through mygov.scot or by calling 0800 182 2222
Individuals must have been out of paid work and in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits (Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit) for six months or more at the time of the job offer.
