Changing ESA / JSA

Hi,

Having viewed the new descriptors for the ESA WCA and reading how they are interpreted by ATOS the reality is that I feel I have very little chance in actually being awarded enough points even though I would consider it nearly impossible for me to undertake regular work. The way this is assessed does not do justice to the reality of some conditions and how they would effect a person in a long term work scenerio.

My question is I have heard that you cannot claim JSA for a month after ESA claim is stoppedi is that true? If it is I cannot imaging how anybody is supposed to survivie financailly in that situation.

Also with regards JSA you are required to delcare you are fit enough to be actively seeking work. I would know this to be untrue for me but because of the unfair WCA of ESA I would not be able to claim that benefit so I can see a possibilty of thousends of people technically not being entitled to any benefit as they have been declared fit for work and not entitled to esa but there continuing medical conditions effect there abilities to meet the requirements of JSA.

I am not familiar with the rules for claiming JSA, but normally a claimant should not have a break in their entitlement to social security benefits, provided the claim is on time and the claimant meets all the conditions of entitlement for the benefit that is being claimed.

With regard to your question about JSA and to be actively looking for work, there is a provision I believe within the JSA regulations, that allows a claimant to place reasonable restrictions on the work that they can undertake because of their medical condition. In my view this is a bizarre and completely perverse provision, because if your are sick/disabled to the extent that you are unable to carry out what would be regarded as full-time work, then the claimant should be claiming ESA and not JSA if they cannot meet the conditions for entitlement, pertinent to that allowance.

Hi Neilwallis

You can claim JSA the day after an ESA claim ends.

You may have gathered from the latest members news article that if you can wash, dress and make a cup of tea, you are fit for work in the eyes of ATOS. Unless there are jobs that only requires these skills you can see that there is a substantial gap between ESA and JSA.

However the test to determine whether a JSA claimant is fit for work is to ask the question 'are you fit for work?' If the claimant answers yes they pass the test, if they answer no they will not be allowed to claim JSA. Speaking from personal experience, they even advise what the correct answer should be before asking the question!

As CD says the Regulations are completely perverse. The Regs state that a claimants health conditions must be taken into consideration when drafting a 'jobseekers agreement', soon to be called a 'claimants commitment'. However if the claimant has a condition that prevents him from working five days a week, as most do, a decision maker can decide that he is not fit for work and deny him JSA, but I'm afraid that in itself will not entitle him to ESA!

I've also known some very honest people who feel uncomfortable claiming JSA when they know that they are not fit for work, but I don't think the legislators are aware that people are honest!

Regards

Derek