Esa question

ollieandduke

My hubby has been doing 2 days a week works just working 5 hours a day. His work has dried up now so do i just ring dwp and ask them to put him on my claim again 

Pippa_Scope

Hi again @ollieandduke, I'm unsure of this myself so I've moved this post into our ask a benefits advisor category where hopefully somebody will be able to help!

ollieandduke

Thanks

mikehughescq

Are you getting contributory or means-tested ESA? Were his earnings declared?

ollieandduke

Yes but because hes self employed and didnt get wage slips to prove his wages they simply stopped his income related esa so i have just lived on contribution esa and his £75 wage for 2 days wages plus pip

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi ollieandduke,

You will need to make a claim for income-related ESA if you ESA is contribution based only. Alternatively, if you get daily living component PIP and your husband is not expected to get back into work he could claim Carer's Allowance and Income Support top up. You would also then get full Housing Benefit minus any possible bedroom tax reduction and help with Council Tax. Please contact your Local Authority to discuss HB/CTR. This is assuming you are not living in a full service Universal Credit area. If you are you'd have to claim UC instead of means tested benefits ESA IR/IS/HB. Your husband could still claim CA and CTR even if you live in a UC area.

Lee

ollieandduke

Im in the support group of esa does that make a difference with me claiming uc

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi ollieandduke,

No, because UC is only replacing means-tested benefits. ESA C can be claimed if someone is entitled to it whether they are in a UC area or not. It's all the means-tested benefits that cannot be claimed in a full service UC area.

Lee

hayzey51

i have fibromyalgia which is constant pain through my body,hands,feet,head,feel fatigue too,i have ensiety too,i have been to two esa f2f appointments but been unsuccesful twice,i`ve been told by dwp i could work,i can`t even keep a hold of a cup,so how am i ment to work.what do you think i should do,just now i am siging on for jsa.

poppy123456

hayzey51 said:

i have fibromyalgia which is constant pain through my body,hands,feet,head,feel fatigue too,i have ensiety too,i have been to two esa f2f appointments but been unsuccesful twice,i`ve been told by dwp i could work,i can`t even keep a hold of a cup,so how am i ment to work.what do you think i should do,just now i am siging on for jsa.

If you've been found fit for work then your next step is to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration and you have 1 month from the date of the decision to ask for this. I'd advice you put this request in writing and send DWP any extra evidence yoou have. Most MR decisions remain the same, so you'll most likely have to take it to Tribunal.

If the MR fails and you take it to Tribunal, once you have the refernce number from them you can go back onto assessment rate for ESA BUT you can only do this if it's your first Tribunal for ESA.

I would advice you to get help with this from your local CAB or any other disability advice centre near you.

BenefitsTrainingCo

hayzey51,

Hi there, as Poppy says, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration (MR) of the most recent ESA decision. Try to do this within a month if you can, but if it's longer, you can still ask for an MR if you are within 13 months of the decision. If it's been longer than a month, try to explain why you are late.

If the MR isn't successful, you can appeal. Unfortunately, you may not be able to go back on ESA whilst you are waiting for the appeal - that's because, from what you say, this isn't your first negative work capability assessment decision, but the second one. So I think the only way you could get ESA whilst you wait for the appeal would be if you had challenged the first negative ESA decision and been successful, and then after that, you had another assessment which was unsuccessful. 

So you might have to stay on JSA for a while whilst you challenge this decision. Make sure the adviser at the Jobcentre knows about your condition and ask for restrictions to your work search, if you can. It's possible to be signed off sick during time on JSA too (for up to 13 weeks), but you are only allowed one period of this extended sickness in 12 months. 

I hope this helps. You should also consider going to see your MP about the poor quality of the assessments and how you have been forced to go onto JSA.

Will