UC, ESA and Etsy. Do I need to declare this to both of them?

rish

I am on both UC and ESA. I have recently set up an Etsy Shop. I want to declare this. Do I tell both of them? My net profit is £1.05 this month and while that may not seem that much, it's enough to make me worried about doing the wrong thing.

I have found a new (part-time) job, and waiting on a start date but it's taking a bit of time.

Ross_Alumni

Hello @rish and thanks for making this post  

Your Etsy shop sounds exciting, what sort of things will you be selling? Your new part time job sounds good too, I imagine you are looking forward to getting started with it  

Is the ESA you receive contribution based?

rish

Thank you @Ross_Scope 😊 I'm only selling digital files on Etsy that I designed as part of my hobby. I still want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I'm not sure what type of ESA I'm on I've totally forgotten. I'll check the letters I received when I get home

rish

Yes @Ross_Scope it's contribution based. 

bg844

From gov.uk:

Working while you claim
You can usually work while you are claiming ESA if both of the following apply:

• you work less than 16 hours a week

• you do not earn more than £152 a week

You can do as many hours of voluntary work as you like.
Tell JobCentre Plus about your work including any volunteering when you make a claim.
If you’re already claiming ESA and want to start work, fill in the ESA permitted work form. Send the form to Jobcentre Plus.

@rish Do you also claim Universal Credit?

calcotti

bg844 said: @rish Do you also claim Universal Credit?

Opening post says they do.

OP, if you are self employed you need to tell UC. Every month, on the last day of your assessment period, you will be required to tell them your income and expenditure (on a cash accounting basis). The difference will be taken as earnings.

bg844

calcotti said:

bg844 said: @rish Do you also claim Universal Credit?

Opening post says they do.

Sorry, my mistake. Not fully awake yet haha! 

bg844

@rish Make sure you do a change of circumstances on your UC account and let them know you start working. If your new job contradicts what you get UC/ESA for please note that it may go against you at re-assessment.

poppy123456

As you're claiming both ESA and UC then your ESA will be New style ESA. I would say your Etsy shop is more of a hobby than self employed business, at the moment at least.

Your part time job is different. For ESA there’s permitted work rules, see screenshot above. You must made sure you're working less than 16 hours per week. If you work 16 hours or more then your ESA will end. You also need to tell ESA you're working and fill out a PW1 form.

For UC the rules are different.

For UC. If you were found to have either LCW/LCWRA or you have children on your claim then you'll have the work allowance. Which means a certain amount of earnings each month will be ignored before the 55% deductions apply. 

If you claim for help with the rent the work allowance is £344/month, if you don't it's £573/month. You need to report a change of circumstances and tell them your working, once you start.

Do be aware that if the work you do contradicts the reasons why you're claiming ESA then it could go against you when the next work capability assessment decision is made.

rish

Thank you @calcotti @bg844 and @poppy123456
Yes it is more a hobby, but I just wanted to be sure what I am doing is ok. 
As for the job situation, I will declare it once I start. I won't get either once I do as the job is going to be at least 25 hours per week. 

poppy123456

rish said:

As for the job situation, I will declare it once I start. I won't get either once I do as the job is going to be at least 25 hours per week. 

For UC that's not quite correct. As mentioned above, if you have the work allowance then a portion of your earnings are ignored. UC is for those that work and have low income as well as those that don't work. Whether there's any entitlement to UC will totally depend on your circumstances.