How to come off esa

TimKK

Hello Scope forum, I have been offered a 3 day a week job starting next week and am in the esa support group.

How do I let the dwp know?

Should I wait a week or so until I'm into my job - just in case I dont cope with the job and have to go back on benefits?

What do people think, thank you, Tim

bg844

How many hours is the role, how much do you expect to earn (weekly) and do you claim any other benefits?

chiarieds

Hi - with ESA, & apologies if you already know, you can work less than 16 hours a week, receiving no more than £167 a week (after tax & NI) before your ESA is affected.

You should complete form PW1 for which there's a link on this page, together with some info: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-and-support-allowance-permitted-work-form/permitted-work-factsheet

Best wishes for your new job.

poppy123456

chiarieds said:

you can work less than 16 hours a week, receiving no more than £149 a week (after tax & NI) before your ESA is affected.

Not sure if that’s a typo. Permitted work earnings is no more than £167/week. 

chiarieds

Edited now, thank you, to say no more than £167 pw

TimKK

hi thanks, the new role will take me over the permitted work allowance.

How do I let the dwp know?

Should I wait a week or so until I'm into my job - just in case I dont cope with the job and have to go back on benefits?

chiarieds

You complete this form to report working:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1148680/permitted_work_factsheet_PW1_04_23.pdf
You should really report about working, as otherwise you may receive an overpayment of ESA which you will have to repay.

poppy123456

TimKK said:

hi thanks, the new role will take me over the permitted work allowance.

How do I let the dwp know?

Should I wait a week or so until I'm into my job - just in case I dont cope with the job and have to go back on benefits?

This is the exact sort of situation where Universal Credit could work well. Permitted work rules do not apply to UC. There's no maximum amount of hours you can work.  

Instead you will have the work allowance. This means you can receive a certain amount of earnings each month before the 55% deductions apply. If you claim for help with any rent it will be £379/month, if you don't it will be £631/month.

You will need to make sure you claim UC before you start working, otherwise you'll need to go through the work capability assessment again. Claiming UC now will mean you'll be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of your claim.

You will of course need to make sure you tell them once you start working. Use a benefits calculator to check entitlement but when you use it make sure you tick the box that says "Limited Capability For Work Related Activity" https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator

chiarieds

poppy123456 said:

 If you claim for help with any rent it will be £379/month, if you don't it will be £63/month.

or perhaps £631 per month?

poppy123456

Oops lol thanks chiarieds, now corrected.

TimKK

I am confused. How can I claim UC if I am working part-time and now going back to work? Surely that would be if i am looking for work?

Are there income limits for UC, ie. if my works pays more than x I cannot claim?

poppy123456

TimKK said:

I am confused. How can I claim UC if I am working part-time and now going back to work? Surely that would be if i am looking for work?

Are there income limits for UC, ie. if my works pays more than x I cannot claim?

UC is also for those that are on low income, as well as those that have health conditions. It's replaced all the old legacy benefits such as Income Related ESA/JSA, Income Support, housing benefit and Tax credits. Many people claim UC and work at the same time. As well as those that claim LCWRA and also work. This may help. https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-disability-universal-credit

As i advised, there's no maximum amount of hours you can work while claiming UC. There's also no earnings limit either but of course the more earnings you receive the less UC you're entitled to. Each individual person will be different and how much maximum UC they are entitled to will depend on their circumstances. This is why i advised using a benefits calculator because only working part time because you'll have the work allowance, there may still be some entitlement to UC. See link regarding work allowances. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-your-earnings-affect-your-payments

TimKK

Thank you poppy, very helpful

If i start this week, should I claim UC before I tell the esa people to stop my claim? How do I do this?

chiarieds

You can claim UC if you're working or not. If you earn more than whichever of the work allowances (help with rent or not) applies to you, then your UC will reduce. You can see an example here: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-your-earnings-affect-your-payments  which is just as poppy explained.

(Poppy has already explained. Sorry, I forgot to refresh the page, again!)

TimKK

So it looks like I can get some UC.

Should I put a claim for UC in, and then wait a few days before calling the esa people and saying I have started work?

Sorry for all the questions, this is all new to me.

poppy123456

You should claim UC before you start working because if you earn more than the permitted work earnings then entitlement to ESA ends. If it ends you will not be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of your claim. Once you claim UC and submit the claim then ESA will be notified that you've made a claim.

As you're in the Support Group then once you've claim UC i'd advise you to put a message onto your journal and tell them that you're in the Support Group. This will hopefully make the transfer process a little easier. Although they are both part of DWP they don't always comunicate with each other.