Sickness & Reclaiming Benefits

GJT1

Can I reclaim any of the following ESA, Housing Benefit, Council Tax reduction, because as of the 16th June I am on sick leave with sick notes. My wife is still working but I cant afford my bills anymore?

poppy123456

You will not be able to reclaim housing benefit because it no longer exists for work age people, unless you're either living in supported or temporary housing. You would need to claim Universal Credit for help with any rent.

As UC is a means tested benefit you would need to claim as a couple and entitlement will be based on your joint circumstances. If you have savings/capital of more than £16,000 you're excluded from claiming.

You can use a benefits calculator to check entitlement. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=d6deadd1-30ed-4abb-a121-ab3619c73755

If it shows entitlement you can report your health condition when you claim but you'll need to provide a fit note within 7 days and continue to provide them without any gaps until a decision is made on your work capability assessment.

You can also look at claiming New style ESA which is a contributions based benefit only (Income Related ESA no longer exists) However, if you're receiving SSP from your employer you won't be able to claim ESA at the same time. SSP is payable for 28 weeks with your employer. 3 months before this is due to end you can start a claim but you'll need a fit note and your SSP1 form from your employer. Payments won't start until 7 days after your SSP ends. To be entitled to payments for this you would need the correct NI contributions in tax years 2021/22 and 2022/23.

If you claim both the above together the ESA is deducted in full from UC.

Council Tax reduction can be claimed from your local Authority as it's not part of UC. Whether there's any entitlement will depend on your joint circumstances.

GJT1

Thankyou Poppy i went to the link and started filling it out but got this message when I filled out my wife's immigration status.

Some benefits have special rules for couples where one member of the couple has an immigration or residence status that means they can't claim benefits in their own right. See our  for more information.

If only one of you is eligible to claim benefits, you should seek specialist advice about whether you can claim as a single person, our calculator results will not be correct for your situation.

poppy123456

If she has No Recourse To Public Funds (NRPF) then she's not entitled to any benefits at all but you still need to claim as a couple and entitlement will still be based on your joint circumstances but you will not receive extra money for your partner. Her earnings will still be taken into consideration when calculating entitlement to UC. You still need to get some expert advice from an agency near you.

poppy123456

If you have a Citizens Advice near you they may have a specialist immigration advisor. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/immigration/get-help/get-immigration-advice/

GJT1

Thanks for all your advice, If Im reading all your advice correctly its almost definitely a UC claim with specialist advice. But what if my illness lasts for only a month and I'm back to work. Will it still be worth going ahead with it because of the short time frame?

poppy123456

UC Is the only benefit at the moment but whether there's any entitlement will depend on your joint circumstances. If you have no dependant children there maybe no entitlement. Yes, specialists advice is needed because of your partners NRPF.

UC is a monthly benefit and first payment is 1 month and 6 days after submitting a claim. Whether it's worth claiming will depend on joint circumstances.

GJT1

Poppy I did go babk to CAB and they did calculations and told me that for now there is now entitlement to UC due to joint income. However there may be a claim for ESA later down the line.

As my shoulder injury is efffecting everything I do to a degree, is it worth me telling PIP that I have been off now for nearly a month?

poppy123456

PIP has nothing to do with your ability to work. You should only report changes if it's possible to score more points needed for a higher award. Reporting changes means you'll be sent another form to fill in and return and another assessment is most likely.

Once the decision is made your award could either remain the same, increase, decrease or even stop completey.

GJT1

Well as we stand I have a JSA and a UC application being considered and im just waiting, mine and my wifes to do list is clear on the UC Journal.