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Husband refused ESA

Loumc48

Hello everyone

My Husband was refused ESA recently due to lack of NI contributions for which when I called them , I was told it was the NI contributions from 2021 to current year although I thought it was the previous two years. Having looked at his NI record, it states :

2023-2024 full year 37 weeks - these may have been added to your record if you were ill / disabled etc

2022-2023 full year 41 weeks - these may have been added etc

2021-2022 self employment 12 weeks, NI CREDITS 40 weeks - these may been added etc

2020- 2021 self employment 12 weeks NI CREDITS 40 weeks - these may have been added etc

Has he been rightly denied ? He has worked full time all his career but decided to set up as self employed at the beginning of 2020. Unfortunately the pandemic scuppered those plans to earn a regular income . He then closed the business and went back into full time employment in 2022 to 2024 but he didn’t have his accident until May 2024 so I am confused why they have added the NI credits line about illness or disability back to 2021 . He’s on LCWRA. Would this decision warrant an MR. I am completely baffled by this one !

Many thanks

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Comments

Morgan_Alumni

Hello @Loumc48. I've always found the relevant dates a bit confusing as they change in January, but are relevant for tax years. I believe at the moment the relevant years are 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, but at some point January they change to 2022-2023 and 2023-April 2024. I've seen cases where someone has applied in December and been rejected due to NI contributions, and applied again in January and been accepted as the relevant dates changed.

If you don't agree with their decision, you can ask them for more information or try and appeal it.

If your husband is already receiving LCWRA on Universal Credit, are you aware that if he is awarded NS ESA, this would be deducted in full from your UC award?

poppy123456

The benefits years change on the first Sunday in January so from tomorrow it will be 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Was it tax year 2020/21 or 2021/22 that he was refused on?

Loumc48

Hi Poppy

I should have waited until I had this response as I reapplied late last night along with sick note and had a message this morning stating that it had been received so I assume it will get refused again as it was 2021 that the refusal was based on.

Would I be able to try again with the application assuming this one will also be denied .

Many thanks as always

Loumc48

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/962679#Comment_962679

Thank you @Morgan_Scope . It’s never ending isn’t it ! I wasn’t aware it would be deducted but is that the same as Carers Allowance where as it gets paid separately but comes off the UC award so effectively, it’s not paid twice .

I appreciate you getting back to me

Kimi87

Yes.

NS ESA is £138.20 a week.

The deduction for UC (which does work in the same way as carers) is £598.86. This looks wrong but ESA is a weekly benefit and UC monthly, there are 4.3 weeks in a month.

Loumc48

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/962726#Comment_962726

Thanks @Kimmy87 . Fingers crossed we get it this time . I just assumed that after 28 weeks on SSP, he would get it automatically. How wrong I was !

poppy123456

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/962709#Comment_962709

I did advise you back in October that the ESA would be deducted in full from UC.

Reapplying now before the benefit year changes tomorrow was not your answer because he will just be refused again. Whether he's entitled from tomorrow will depend on when he started work in 2022 and when he finished in 2024.

You can see the eligibility criteria here but please ignore the years that are stated in it because they will change tomorrow.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/employment-and-support-allowance-contribution-based

Loumc48

just an update on this if that’s OK. My husband was accepted on ESA today as although I reapplied on the 3rd Jan , I had a lady call me today and said I could change the claim date to the 5th and then put everything in place to which was a relief and also very kind of her.

However, I am still so confused ! She said he would be in the support group but at £90.50 per week and then would likely be moved up to the higher amount after three months but she also said that ESA generally reflect the decision disability UC payments which I assume is LWRCA which my husband is also on.

So given that LWRCA has been in place for several months, would he still need the three month period on the lower rate or would he go straight on to the higher rate?

Also, if UC reduce the ESA from the monthly UC claim, what are the benefits of claiming it? Thanks in advance as always !

poppy123456

That's good news. Even though he already has LCWRA he still needs to wait 13 weeks for the Support Group amount to be paid. It's then paid from the 14th week. Support Group for ESA is the same as LCWRA for UC.

UC doesn't reduce the ESA, it's the other way around, ESA reduces the UC. ESA will be £90.50/week but paid fortnightly. The deduction from UC will be £392.16/month.

When ESA increases to £138.20/week from the 14th week the deduction from UC will be £598.86/month. Both amounts look like it's more than he receives but ESA is a weekly benefit and UC is monthly and there's 4.3 weeks in a month, not 4 weeks.

I did advise in a previous thread that there were no financial advantages to claiming both benefits. The only difference between ESA and UC is ESA isn't means tested and he will receive class 1 NI credits. UC is means tested and he would only receive class 3 NI credits.

Loumc48

Thanks Poppy one again !

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