Income Support/Employment S. A.

Hello Everyone,
From the start of applying for health related benefits (I have been given fit/sick note for over a year now) I have been given conflicting advise. I was told to apply for ESA (benefits enquiry line 0800) which I did over the phone and returned the doc. that was sent to me, after checking.

I called regarding progress and was told that as I still was under a work contract and still had 3 months 1/2 pay due to me, I should be applying for IS. The helpful individual transferred my details to the office that handles IS. Another person called from IS and informed me that they would process my claim for IS instead and that after the end of this last Feb., they would switch me to ESA.

Because so much has gone wrong and with my being confused about the process, I called the 0800 number again yesterday to ask about the progress of my ESA claim. I got a call back saying that actually, I would have to re-claim for ESA asap.

One reason I felt that I was being considered for ESA already, was because I have had a P to W interview. So, does the DWP also start the 5 interview process whilst you are in receipt of IS?

And, if I do have maybe two hours of work two days a week (made possible with assistance from Remploy) and I feel I can handle this, will I still get some assistance from ESA?

Thank you for your help. I do hope that this message is clear. cmarie510

You can be expected to attend WFIs whilst on IS.

It is possible to claim ESA whilst doing some work, but it depends on how much and how much you earn. If you look in the Help for Claimants section under Work, you will find information about Permitted Work.

Do get that application for ESA in promptly and ask them to backdate it to when your IS ended.

Thank you for your help. I am applying for ESA (again) as I write, nearly. I can not express how grateful i am for your immediate help and support. cmarie510.

if you are employed but not working and not entitled to SSP thrn you can claim ESA, you can also have this back dated for 3 months, you can only get SSP for 28 weeks and your employercshould have then provided you with an SSP1, thevfact they are paying you is up to the employer. i assume they will only pay ESA contribution bassed rather than income related but i would guess that your contributiins shoukd be enough.

it appears that employerscand some jobcentre do not understand this....i was on ESA, went to work in August, won my appeal in september ( nice lump sum paid) then went off sick (back operation) and my employer paid me SSP which was wrong. I was made redundant in feb, ( been off sick for the whole time from September) claimed ESA only to find out that SSP should not have been paid.....

the good news is my enployer is not going to ask for thE SSP back...and the DWP are back dating my claim 3 months and therefore my claim links under the 3 month rule..

good luck cmarie510

julesg111
Thanks so much for your illuminating reply. Oh, and for the encouragement. I have been told so many conflicting things since beginning to look into eligibility for health benefits that I am now always questioning repeatedly.

I will speak to one person on a help line and then call back 30 minutes later, speak to another, and get ANOTHER reply.

Thanks again,
cmarie510