New Job

Peter_88

Hi

I claim Pip (standard care enhanced mobility) and ESA Support Group and my wife is on my claim as a couple And she receives carers allowance.

she has just started a small job of 8.75 hours per week with a salary about £75 a week. 

Do I need to inform them, if I do how and will our benefit money change?

many thanks

poppy123456

HI and welcome,

I'm one of the community champions here on scope.

Yes, you do need to inform DWP of the changes and also your local council if you're claiming Housing benefit and Council tax reduction.

If your ESA is all Income Related then the first £20 of your wife's earnings will not be affected. Anything over that and your ESA will be affected £1 for £1. This means that you will lose £55 per week from your ESA, if it's all Income related.

All changes must be reported.

It maybe worth you claiming Universal Credit, if your wife is going to continue to work. By doing this your ESA support group award will transfer to UC and you'll have a work allowance included in your claim. The work allowance will mean that either yourself or your wife will be able to earn a certain amount of money each assessment period before you start to see deductions. If you claim the housing element with UC then your work allowance will be £287 per month. If you don't claim the housing element then it will be £503 per month.

Before claiming UC i'd advise you to either put all of your details into a benefits calculator or speak to an advice agency near you for a full benefits check.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @Peter_88 and welcome to the community.
I agree with Poppy, definitely let them know. As she mentioned, it may be worth you and your wife looking into Universal Credit. Please let us know if you need any help with this or have any questions. 

Peter_88

Thank you for your replies. Would changing to universal credit require all the health assessments to be re done? As currently in esa support group and only went re through them a few months ago?

Adrian_Scope

Hi @Peter_88, under transitional regulation 19, your support group status should be protected, meaning your support group status will be transitioned to Universal Credit and you'll placed in the LCWRA group (which is the support group equivalent).

Sometimes they do mess this up at the beginning, but a quick note in your journal is usually enough to get it sorted.

Peter_88

Thank you, that is such a relief.

poppy123456

It's worth remembering that even though your Support Group award will transfer to UC, you can still be re-assessed anytime from 3 months and this is for ESA and UC work capability assessments.