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Self Employed About to get Surgery

julieGC81

I am self employed for 5 years (pay taxes and NI if full) and I’m due surgery in 2 weeks and I’ll get signed off work for 6 weeks (which I plan to take).

Am I able to claim ESA for those 6 weeks? If yes, what do I need to consider and what do I do to get this started. If no, can I get other financial support?

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OverlyAnxious

Hi,

You should be able to claim New Style ESA for those 6 weeks. You will need to supply a fit note within 7 days of starting the claim so can't do it in advance. You can apply for New Style ESA online here. And will be contacted for an assessment soon after that.

New Style Employment and Support Allowance - GOV.UK

New Style ESA does not take savings into account, it is a non-means tested benefit that is only reliant on NI contributions as you are already aware. If you have less than £16,000 in savings then you may also be entitled to some Universal Credit. (This may still apply when you return to work if income is low.)

julieGC81

@OverlyAnxious Thank you so much for your support, this was very helpful. And I have what I need to claim after my surgery. I see that if I earn money while sick (which is possible as I have some passive income sales - which fluctuate in amount) this might be an issue. Which makes sense if I have income I cannot claim. The past two months this has totalled £80, but in the past I have made £240 in a day, do you know how this might work with claiming ESA as I will not be working but want to do this in the right way.

Again, much appreciate your support.

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/991442#Comment_991442

You're welcome.

Regarding earnings, I'm not 100% sure on this situation. The standard Permitted Work rules are up to 16 hours or £183.50 per week for ESA. No ESA is payable once above those thresholds. However, I don't know whether that still applies to an occasional passive income like this. Personally, I would probably pause the passive income while on ESA if that's possible, but I would recommend asking another service, perhaps the Scope helpline or the CAB, as they may be able to provide a better answer for this scenario.