ESA (Support Group) to own business - has anyone else been through this?

ascopeuser

Hello all,

First post here and hoping to receive some information, possible from people in the know or who have also been through something similar.

I have been on ESA, within the support group for a few years now. I am left alone and never really hear anything other than the annual updates on monetary changes.

Since claiming ESA I've been able to spend some time reading/learning and I am thinking there could be a possibility that I may be able to start a small business at some point with all being well.

It's my understanding that within the support group you cannot do any work whatsoever. I suspect my only option would be to move to the work group?

There will be start-up costs to consider and moving from the support to work group could well impact any money I receive. I receive a weekly 'premium' and I'm not sure if that is tied to the support group or not. I'm also thinking it could possibly re-trigger an assessment that I'd prefer not to go through again.

I can't see an obvious way to go from ESA to being self employed as there's no guarantee of income immediately and invoice terms are usually 30 days or so. It's not quite the same as taking a job with someone else as you'll receive some form of income within your first month and you won't have to endure the start-up costs.

I am wondering how best to proceed? I really don't want to put myself into some financial difficulty by trying to better myself and situation.

I am also in receipt of PIP, which I understand is unlikely to be impacted unless the change in ESA triggers something on their system to re-assess?

Thanks.

poppy123456

It's my understanding that within the support group you cannot do any work whatsoever. I suspect my only option would be to move to the work group?

That is not correct. You can do permitted work while claiming ESA regardless of which group you're in. You just need to make sure you work less than 16 hours per week and earn no more than £152/week after deductions. https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/working-while-you-claim

You need to tell ESA that you're working and you'll need to fill out the PW1 form. If the work you do contradicts the reason why you're in the Support Group it can go against you when you're next reviewed.

PIP isn't affected because it's not means tested.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @ascopeuser Thank you for joining us! 

I can see that poppy123456 has given you some guidance on this. You may also find it helpful to read our page on self-employment and disability benefits, which also has links to pages on self-employment more generally.

Do you mind me asking what kind of business you're thinking of setting up? There's no pressure to share, I'm just asking out of interest