Women – ‘Dress for Success’

•  ‘Dress for Success’ is a charity that can provide women with free clothing appropriate for an interview.

•  At the same time you will be given personal support to boost your confidence.

•  If you get a job they will then give you further clothing for a good working wardrobe.

•  You should be referred by an organization such as a homeless daycentre or an employment advisor so ask one of these.

•  Dress for Success is based at Unit 9, 89 Shepperton Road, N1 3DF. Telephone 7288 1770

•  For more information see dressforsuccess.org

Men and Women

•  Unfortunately we do not know of any organization like Dress for Success for men.

•  You can ask at the clothing stores of homeless daycentres and they might just have something suitable.

•  If you are first or second generation Scots, male or female, and have an interview which can be confirmed with the employer, then Scotscare may be able to help you.

Budgeting Loans

•  One of the reasons you can apply for a budgeting loan from the Jobcentre is ‘expenses associated with seeking work’. This might therefore be for clothes. However you do not need to specify what things you need the money for on the form.

•  To apply for one of these loans you must have been receiving income-based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Support for at least 26 weeks (breaks of less than 28 days in your claim can be ignored for this).

•  If you are applying as a single person you start off with the lowest rating for a loan.

•  Whether you get a loan will then depend on two further factors: how long you have been on benefit and the amount of money in the budget for the local jobcentre area.

•  The lowest loan that can be made is £100 and the highest £1000.

•  The amount that you can borrow will be reduced by the amount of any other budgeting loans or crisis loans that you have outstanding.

•  You can only be given an amount that the jobcentre thinks you are likely to be able to repay over a two year period.

•  Standard repayment rates are either 5%, 10% or 12% from your Jobseekers Allowance or Income Support.

•  You apply on form SF500. You can get a copy from your local jobcentre or download a copy here. Make sure you include all the information requested about your personal circumstances.

•  Decisions are usually made within one week.