Signed off work, am I eligible for esa?

sarahanne

I'm currently signed off with depression, stress and anxiety. What help can I get? Would I be eligible for esa. And would I get further help if I terminated my employment if I felt I couldn't return? Tia

Stayce

Hi @sarahanne
Good to have you on board the community- Welcome 

I am sorry to hear you are currently signed off work.

We have a number of discussions at the moment around esa here under the benefits and finances section of the community 
https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/benefits-and-finances

Also you can directly ask a benefits advisor here any of your questions 

https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-a-benefits-advisor

Hope this helps

Best wishes

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi @sarahanne,

If you're signed off and getting statutory sick pay (SSP) then you can't get ESA for the time being. If you don't get SSP (maybe because you don't earn enough), then you should claim ESA.

If you end your employment by giving notice then statutory sick pay would end. Once you are no longer employed, your employer doesn't have to pay you sick pay. So then you could claim ESA.

To begin with you submit sick notes from your GP and you get ESA of £73.10 a week. Eventually (it should be after 13 weeks but is often longer) you have an assessment which consists of a questionnaire you have to fill in and return, and usually a medical too.

It's hard to say what would happen at this stage but you need to score at least 15 points to get ESA. You can look at the points system here (it's in appendix 1 of the factsheet). If you do score enough points, you may get a little bit more money, but it depends on which group you are placed in, and whether you claim before 6 April 2017.

Bear in mind that ESA in the assessment phase is less than SSP. You might want to check what other benefits you could receive too, such as housing benefit if you pay rent, or PIP if your conditions are affecting social and home life too.

Will