ESA application help - on SSP 6 weeks but due to leave work when it ends

LymeWarrior30

Hi everyone,

I think I've applied for ESA wrong and I just feel really confused. I have been chronically ill for 8 years and have got more and more Ill to a point I can no longer work.

I have a fit note to claim ssp up to 1st May 23. 
I work for a one man band, full time employed, and I planned to resigned so my last day would be 1st May 23, albeit on sick leave.

I've applied for ESA and sent them the fit note, however I've put the ssp end date as 1st May as this is technically the last day I will receive it due to retiring on Ill health. 

Have I done this wrong? Some people say I have to claim 28 weeks ssp before being eligible for ESA? But what would people do if they have no job and want to apply if that's the case?

Any help greatly appreciated as feel like I've messed this up now.
I also get PIP, do I send the same kind of medical evidence in such as consultant letters etc? I've tried getting in touch with CAB, but they just send me a link to gov site.

weakspot

https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay/eligibility-and-form-ssp1

The link above may answer your questions

if you are long term sick and it is likely to last longer that the 28 weeks of ssp I believe your employer can fill in the ssp1 form and you can apply for esa , whether it’s contributions based or income based ESA but the link addresses that 

LymeWarrior30

weakspot said:

https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay/eligibility-and-form-ssp1

The link above may answer your questions

if you are long term sick and it is likely to last longer that the 28 weeks of ssp I believe your employer can fill in the ssp1 form and you can apply for esa , whether it’s contributions based or income based ESA but the link addresses that 

Ah OK thanks.

So this section

Long-term illness

You can complete form SSP1 before the end of SSP if you know an employee will be off sick for more than 28 weeks. This means they can apply for ESA before their SSP comes to an end

So I guess I will ask them to fill this in based on the 1st May of it ending?

LymeWarrior30

I checked the ssp1 form and there's this reason they can tick for not getting SSP "Your contract of employment has ended 

or will be coming to an end." 

So could they tick that if I resign and then I can apply for esa?

Ash6f

Hi the same thing happened to me I was on sick and then I was made redundant I applied for new style esa as you can no longer apply for the old one I put the date as tge day after my ssp ran out and was paid from that date you then usually have a call from a work coach a week or 2 later and then you have to wait for assessment which should all be completed in 13 weeks of start of esa but they have a back log mine took 7 months but they did back date my payment once assessment and decision was complete so sounds like you have not done it incorrectly good luck when you get your assessment I know they are going to be abolished but not for a couple of years as it has to go through parliament and then the other systems need to be set up so unfortunately we still have to go through them at the moment 

LymeWarrior30

Ash6f said:

Hi the same thing happened to me I was on sick and then I was made redundant I applied for new style esa as you can no longer apply for the old one I put the date as tge day after my ssp ran out and was paid from that date you then usually have a call from a work coach a week or 2 later and then you have to wait for assessment which should all be completed in 13 weeks of start of esa but they have a back log mine took 7 months but they did back date my payment once assessment and decision was complete so sounds like you have not done it incorrectly good luck when you get your assessment I know they are going to be abolished but not for a couple of years as it has to go through parliament and then the other systems need to be set up so unfortunately we still have to go through them at the moment 

Thank you and glad you managed to sort it. Don't know why I find it really confusing.

Did you supply them with an SSP1 form then I take it and the end date would of been the last date of employment? I'm guessing you didn't get the full 28 weeks SSP?

Can the assessment be done over the phone or home visit if housebound?

Thanks everyone for your help and advice, really appreciate it

poppy123456

LymeWarrior30 said:

So could they tick that if I resign and then I can apply for esa?

You shouldn't just resign from your job without first getting some expert advice, especially as you said you've worked for them for 8 years. You are entitled to SSP for 28 weeks and it pays more than ESA would so i don't understand why you would want to end this to recieve less money.

LymeWarrior30

poppy123456 said:

LymeWarrior30 said:

So could they tick that if I resign and then I can apply for esa?

You shouldn't just resign from your job without first getting some expert advice, especially as you said you've worked for them for 8 years. You are entitled to SSP for 28 weeks and it pays more than ESA would so i don't understand why you would want to end this to recieve less money.

Hi, sorry no, I've been ill for 8 years. Worked there for 3.

It's a one man band, I.e just one director and me, so it's quite difficult.
From what I read support group ESA is about the same as sick pay. 
I guess just want to get everything sorted.

Do you know where I can get some expert advice please?

Thanks

poppy123456

Support Group is more than SSP but you need to have an assessment first, if you don't automatically qualify. The extra money isn't paid for the first 13 weeks, so i still don't understand why you want to stop the SSP before the 28 weeks are up. You're entitled to SSP by law.

You can start a claim for ESA 3 months before the SSP and but you'll need the SSP1 form and a fit note. ESA will then start the day after SSP ends.

calcotti

poppy123456 said:

LymeWarrior30 said:

So could they tick that if I resign and then I can apply for esa?

You shouldn't just resign from your job without first getting some expert advice, especially as you said you've worked for them for 8 years. You are entitled to SSP for 28 weeks and it pays more than ESA would so i don't understand why you would want to end this to recieve less money.

SSP pays more than ESA assessment phase but if found to have Support Group that will then be paying more than SSP once in Support Group. I group however it can be worth seeing if there are any other previous employer entitlement other than SSP (but there often isn't).

poppy123456

calcotti said:

SSP pays more than ESA assessment phase but if found to have Support Group that will then be paying more than SSP once in Support Group

Indeed which is what i advised here. 

poppy123456 said:

Support Group is more than SSP

LymeWarrior30

poppy123456 said:

calcotti said:

SSP pays more than ESA assessment phase but if found to have Support Group that will then be paying more than SSP once in Support Group

Indeed which is what i advised here. 

poppy123456 said:

Support Group is more than SSP

Thank you for your help.

So I'm thinking if I call esa to cancel my application (if that's even possible), and continue to claim ssp for 3 months, then I can apply for ESA at that point as it will be due to end in the next 3 months I.e had the full 28 weeks?

Sorry for being stupid, my cognitive ability has taken a severe decline over the last 6 months.

Thanks for your help

calcotti

poppy123456 said:

calcotti said:

SSP pays more than ESA assessment phase but if found to have Support Group that will then be paying more than SSP once in Support Group

Indeed which is what i advised here. 

poppy123456 said:

Support Group is more than SSP 

Not just disagreeing with you. My observation was that for someone who is expects to qualify for Support Group they sometimes just give up employment and SSP in order to start ESA now into to get to the Support Group sooner.

poppy123456

calcotti said:

poppy123456 said:

calcotti said:

SSP pays more than ESA assessment phase but if found to have Support Group that will then be paying more than SSP once in Support Group

Indeed which is what i advised here. 

poppy123456 said:

Support Group is more than SSP 

Not just disagreeing with you. My observation was that for someone who is expects to qualify for Support Group they sometimes just give up employment and SSP in order to start ESA now into to get to the Support Group sooner.

Ah yes, great observation, which i didn't think of so thanks for explaining that!

poppy123456

LymeWarrior30 said:

Thank you for your help.

So I'm thinking if I call esa to cancel my application (if that's even possible), and continue to claim ssp for 3 months, then I can apply for ESA at that point as it will be due to end in the next 3 months I.e had the full 28 weeks?

Sorry for being stupid, my cognitive ability has taken a severe decline over the last 6 months.

Thanks for your help

You don't need to cancel your claim. When you claimed you should have sent the SSP1 form with your claim and it would have had the end date on there. ESA can't be paid at the same time as SSP anyway but you can start a claim 3 months before the SSP ends.

Referring back to calcotti's comment here.

calcotti said:

Not just disagreeing with you. My observation was that for someone who is expects to qualify for Support Group they sometimes just give up employment and SSP in order to start ESA now into to get to the Support Group sooner.

Have you had a look at the descriptors for Support Group? If not you can see them here. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/support-group-descriptors if you're 100% sure you qualify then it maybe worth continuing with your claim. However, i still wouldn't advise just ending your employment without getting some expert advice. You can get this from contacting ACAS. https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

LymeWarrior30

poppy123456 said:

LymeWarrior30 said:

Thank you for your help.

So I'm thinking if I call esa to cancel my application (if that's even possible), and continue to claim ssp for 3 months, then I can apply for ESA at that point as it will be due to end in the next 3 months I.e had the full 28 weeks?

Sorry for being stupid, my cognitive ability has taken a severe decline over the last 6 months.

Thanks for your help

You don't need to cancel your claim. When you claimed you should have sent the SSP1 form with your claim and it would have had the end date on there. ESA can't be paid at the same time as SSP anyway but you can start a claim 3 months before the SSP ends.

Referring back to calcotti's comment here.

calcotti said:

Not just disagreeing with you. My observation was that for someone who is expects to qualify for Support Group they sometimes just give up employment and SSP in order to start ESA now into to get to the Support Group sooner.

Have you had a look at the descriptors for Support Group? If not you can see them here. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/support-group-descriptors if you're 100% sure you qualify then it maybe worth continuing with your claim. However, i still wouldn't advise just ending your employment without getting some expert advice. You can get this from contacting ACAS. https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

Thank you. I stupidly just put the end date as my end date of the fit note, i dont have an ssp1 form yet. If I was to resign, I assume employer can fill one in and end date would be last day of employment?

Yes, I definitely qualify for the support group so might be worth continuing.
I will call ACAS in the meantime to see if they can help.

Thank you all for your comments and advice 

LymeWarrior30

ACAS couldn't really offer me any advice re employment, other than call ESA to see if resigning will affect the claim. I've tried calling dwp for help with ESA but everytime I am cut off after being on hold for a while.

As far as I know, my employer can fill in SSP1 form as I have a long term illness that will be for more than 28 weeks, therefore could end the SSP on the 1st May which is what I put on the claim application. OR I can resign and then they can fill in SSP1 form as my last day will be the 1st May. Then I can send this I'm along with medical evidence for ESA claim and hopefully get in the support group as I can no longer work.

LymeWarrior30

Just an update- I rang DWP and they said even if I resign,  employer can fill in SSP1 form which will say SSP ends on my last day of employment, so in theory my claim is still valid. Just means i will have to wait for the SSP1 form before sending it to DWP along with evidence.

Anyone know if there's a set time to send this by?

Hannah_Alumni

I cannot find a set time frame for this. I did look at the DWP website for information, to which I could only find information on if you are not eligible? I think it may be best to ring the DWP so you can get a clearer answer.