The Job Start Payment is a one-off payment to help young people and care leavers in Scotland to move into work.

There is no equivalent for England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

The Job Start Payment - Scotland is available for:

• People aged 16 to 24; and
• Care leavers aged 16 to 25.

People aged 16 to 24

• You must be aged 16 to 24 at the time you get a job offer; and
• You must have been offered a paid job (at least 12 hours per week, averaged over a four-week period) within the past six months; and 
• You must have been out of paid work for six months or more at the time you were offered a job (including self-employment); and
• You must have been getting one of these benefits for 6 months at the time you were offered a job;
  • Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Income Support
  • Universal Credit
• You have to have been living in Scotland on the day you were offered the job; and
• You can't have received a Job Start Payment in the past two years.

If you received contributory ESA or JSA before this, you can still apply, as long as you were on one of the benefits listed above for at least 6 months. 

Care leavers aged 16 to 25

You will be considered a care leaver if you were looked after by social services, whether in care or with your family, at the time you turned 16.

To be entitled to a Job Start Payment as a care leaver:

• You have to be aged 16 to 25 at the time you were offered a job; and 
• You must have been offered a paid job (at least 12 hours per week, averaged over a four-week period) within the past six months; and
• You have to have been out of paid work on the day you were offered the job (including self-employment); and
• You have to have been getting one of these benefits on the day you were offered the job:
  • Universal Credit
  • Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance 
  • Income Support
• You have to have been living in Scotland on the day you were offered the job; and
• You can't have received a Job Start Payment in the past two years.

Updated: April 2023

The Job Start Payment - Scotland is a one-off payment.

It is paid at two rates:

• If you are the main carer of any children, you will receive £471.50
• If you are not the main carer of any children, you will receive £294.70

Updated: April 2023

You can apply for the Job Start Payment online.

You can also apply using a paper form. You can download the form. 

If you need any advice or support, you can call Social Security Scotland free on: 0800 182 2222. For Video Relay, you can use the contactSCOTLAND app.

Redetermination

If you don't agree with a decision on your Job Start Payment claim, you must first ask for a redetermination.

You should be sent a form with the decision letter that you can use to request a redetermination. 

In general, you need to request a redetermination within 31 days of receiving the original decision. If you miss this time limit, you can still request a redetermination. However, you will have to explain why you missed the time limit.

Appeal

If you are still unhappy with the decision after the redetermination, you can appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. This is an independent court that will look again at the decision and decide whether or not it was correct. Tribunals are not very formal and you don't have to have a lawyer to represent you

Your redetermination decision should give you information on how to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal.

Appeals can be complicated, so it is a good idea to speak to an adviser.