ESA self employed off work due to operation

gg2022

Hey everyone, my partner has just had a operation and can’t work for 4 months. He went to the job Center to be told himself and I need to apply for UC. I explained when I was off 6 years ago, I claimed ESA for whilst I was off. The advisor then went on to say my partner has only contributed towards class 2 and 4 NI and needs to have contributed towards class 1 to claim ESA (but we have spoken to our accountant and he explained class 1 is employed only) can someone advise us what to do? The advisor has booked me in next week for me to prove I am who
I am so we can go ahead with UC, but we
dont want to claim UC! Please can someone help? Thanks 

calcotti

Class 2 contributions count for ESA. Class 4 do not. In order to claim new style ESA a full NI record for 2019-20 and 2020-21 will be required. The advice that only Class 1 counts is incorrect.

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/what-national-insurance-is-for

Depending on your circumstances it may be beneficial to claim UC to top up any ESA.

gg2022

But why am I being asked to make an account for UC when it’s not for me? 

Am I best ringing the national JOB CENTER NUMBER, rather than my local one? Or Citizen Advice? Just I feel she is giving us the wrong information.

thanks

poppy123456

A Job centre is not really the place to go for benefits advice. As calcotti has already advised, if you've paid the correct NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years you can claim New style ESA. You can check your NI record here. https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

To apply for New Style ESA see link. https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record It pays £77/week if over 25. A fit note will be needed to be able to claim this.

UC can be claimed to top up your income, if eligible. The ESA will be deducted in full from the UC. If you live with a partner you claim as a couple and your joint circumstances will be taken into consideration. Use a benefits calculator to check entitlement. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=54c54747-665e-4221-9c9d-aa1b75241b8f

calcotti

gg2022 said:

But why am I being asked to make an account for UC when it’s not for me? 

If your partner wishes to claim UC then you will need to claim UC too because a UC claim is a couple claim. They would claim first, as part of the process they get a linking claim and you then claim using the linking code. Any UC entitlement is based on your joint circumstances. There may be no entitlement.

If they only want to claim ESA then that is an individual claim and you will not be involved.

Rather than relying on what the JobCentre has said, if your partner wants to claim ESA they should just do it. 

https://www.apply-new-style-employment-support-allowance.service.gov.uk/who-is-applying

The first thing DWP will do once the claim is made is to check your partner’s NI record to see if they are entitled to be paid.

SueHeath

Morning @gg2022 my hubby as been self employed all his life and i am his book keeper.
Please listen and action the above information they know what their talkiing about and are correct.

gg2022

Thanks everyone! He only wants to claim ESA. I have just forwarded him the link to apply for it and he said how can he go ahead when only paying class 2/4?

gg2022

I did attach a photo but there is nothing there 

gg2022

poppy123456

Class 4 will not entitle him to New style ESA. He will need to have paid class 2. As advised, he can apply and DWP will check his NI record, if he’s paid enough then he will receive £77/week. If he hasn’t paid enough he will not be entitled to any money.

gg2022

poppy123456 said:

Class 4 will not entitle him to New style ESA. He will need to have paid class 2. As advised, he can apply and DWP will check his NI record, if he’s paid enough then he will receive £77/week. If he hasn’t paid enough he will not be entitled to any money.

So does he click option one: continue to apply for new style ESA

gg2022

My concern is it says you may not be eligible then comes up with this…

On the first photo attached it says employed and paid NI but he is not employed but has paid NI so do I just click not sure so we can get through to the next stage 

poppy123456

Just tick "not sure" and then proceed to claim ESA. As advised, they check anyway so if he's not paid the correct amount he won't be paid the ESA.

calcotti

As I advised in my earlier reply

calcotti said:

Class 2 contributions count for ESA. Class 4 do not. In order to claim new style ESA a full NI record for 2019-20 and 2020-21 will be required. 

If he has paid Class 2 for those two years then he has paid the necessary NI.

I confirmed the advice I gave by including the following link in my reply
https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/what-national-insurance-is-for
which clearly states what different types of NI count towards and clearly shows that Class 2 counts for new style ESA.

If he hasn't paid for those years yet he can still pay voluntary Class 2 contributions in order to qualify.

gg2022

Hey everyone, my partner had to drop documents off at the Job Center to go ahead with the ESA claim. The lady at the job center has said the likely hood of it going ahead is slim with him not paying class 1 (which he can’t pay due to being self employed) 

what is going on? I’m being told two different things! 

SueHeath

I would just wait and see 

poppy123456

As he was self employed it would be class 2 he will have needed to pay. If he only paid class 4 then he won’t be entitled. They will send a decision letter once a decision is made.

calcotti

gg2022 said:

Hey everyone, my partner had to drop documents off at the Job Center to go ahead with the ESA claim. The lady at the job center has said the likely hood of it going ahead is slim with him not paying class 1 (which he can’t pay due to being self employed) 

what is going on? I’m being told two different things! 

The JobCentreperson is incorrect, they are not advisers. As advised, Class 2 counts for ESA and previously providd you a link to the gov.uk webpage that confirms this.

if he was registered with HMRC as self employed in tax years 2019-20 and 2020-21 he can make up any shortfall by paying voluntary Class 2 NI contributions. These would then be taken into account for ESA purposes 6 weeks after they are paid.

The ESA claim would in case be accepted regardless of NI record and will trigger a Work Capability Assessment. The NI record determines whether or not any ESA is paid but even if it is not if the WCA outcome determination of LCW or LCWRA he would get NI credits (class 1) due to this.

gg2022

calcotti said:

gg2022 said:

Hey everyone, my partner had to drop documents off at the Job Center to go ahead with the ESA claim. The lady at the job center has said the likely hood of it going ahead is slim with him not paying class 1 (which he can’t pay due to being self employed) 

what is going on? I’m being told two different things! 

The JobCentreperson is incorrect, they are not advisers. As advised, Class 2 counts for ESA and previously providd you a link to the gov.uk webpage that confirms this.

if he was registered with HMRC as self employed in tax years 2019-20 and 2020-21 he can make up any shortfall by paying voluntary Class 2 NI contributions. These would then be taken into account for ESA purposes 6 weeks after they are paid.

The ESA claim would in case be accepted regardless of NI record and will trigger a Work Capability Assessment. The NI record determines whether or not any ESA is paid but even if it is not if the WCA outcome determination of LCW or LCWRA he would get NI credits (class 1) due to this.

Thanks so much for this reply. My partner was so annoyed whilst in the job center as she was adamant he won’t get it, and told him the system had changed 🤦🏽‍♀️ I will try to reassure him now

L_Volunteer

You are welcome @gg2022. It is the very least you deserve.

Hopefully, this helps to clarify things and reassure him. Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can do anything else to help 

gg2022

L_Volunteer said:

You are welcome @gg2022. It is the very least you deserve.

Hopefully, this helps to clarify things and reassure him. Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can do anything else to help 

I thought I would update that his claim was accepted, but now has a 24 page document he has to fill out ( FIT TO WORK) completely confused to why he has to fill this out when he physically cannot work after his operation.