Hi, my name is Pisces! I’ve been off Work for 28 weeks and was paid from Work while I was off ill

Pisces

I wanted to find out I’ve been off Work for 28 weeks and was paid from Work while I was off ill then I made a claim for ESA to backdate the three months that I was not paid from work. I’ve told them that would be all I was claiming for what I was entitled to the backdated three months, now they’ve sent me a P 45 which I presume ends my claim but it tells me to hand my P4 Five to my new employee but I haven’t got a new employee. It’s my regular job. Do I still have to give them this form?

poppy123456

The P45 means they are saying there's no entitlement to New Style ESA. To claim this you need to have the correct NI contributions from working in the previous 2 tax years. For a claim before 5th January 2025 the tax years that are relevant were 2021/22 and 2022/23. For a claim from 5th Jan 2025 the tax years are 2022/23 and 2023/24.

You need class 1 NI contributions if employed as PAYE or class 2 if you were self employed.

You can see the criteria here.

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

Have you used a benefits calculator and checked entitlement to Universal Credit? If you live with a partner you'll need to claim as a couple. If you have capital of more than £16,000 you're excluded from claiming. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/

Pisces

hi poppy thank you for replying
i’m not trying to claim anything else. I’ve just claimed up to me going back to work now but I wondered where they say hand your P45 to your new employee. Why would I do that when I’m only going back to my original job? It’s not a new employee so do I not hand it in as I’ve just gone back to my original job.

poppy123456

DWP always send out a P45 if there's no entitlement to a benefit like New Style ESA. The advice to give it to a new employer was just that… advice. The letter the P45 came with is just a standard letter.

If during those 28 weeks you were receiving SSP from your employer you would not be able to claim ESA at the same time. If you're returning to work even if you did have the correct NI contributions in the years mentioned above, you could only claim ESA if you were working less than 16 hours per week and earning less than £183.50/week.

Pisces

Thanks again poppy for replying I think you’re right that I’ve just gotta keep the P45 for future tax reference. I’ve returned to work so I stopped my esa claim So I think all is good. I was just worried because I kept getting all these letters and didn’t know whether I had to reply to them or not but I’ve been told I don’t have to reply to anything else because I’ve stopped my claim.🤗