LCW

andrew0001

My son has been awarded UC ESA and placed in the support group. He is 23 years old. He received a benefit equal to the basic rate of £58. He started his claim in November 2019 and got payment statements for the first three months equal to this basic figure. He has now received an additional payment in month 4 to account for now being awarded esa and being in the support group but that extra sum makes no sense. My question is whether the full support group payment should be backdated to the start of the claim in November or whether the government just gets away with paying this basic figure for a set period ie 3 months regardless of their award after 3 months waiting? Thank you.

chiarieds

Hi @andrew0001 - Welcome to the community. It seems you get the assessment rate for ESA of up to £58.90 for 13 weeks if under 25. Not knowing what your son received after this makes it difficult to reply, but there's some info on the government website which may better explain.

See: https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/what-youll-get

Once a decision has been made, such as your son being placed in the Support group, ESA is paid every 2 weeks, so perhaps that's what he's been paid? Please let us know how he gets on.

Ails

Hi @andrew0001 and welcome to the Community.  It's nice to meet you and thank you for sharing with us.  I hope you find the above ESA information helpful which @chiareds has provided.  Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on.  All the best.