Can someone advise if you can be forced into work whilst on ESA

bundance

I have a friend on ESA, been on it since the beginning of the year, and I may have heard my friend wrong, but it sounds as if they are being forced and pressured into work.

Did I hear my friend wrong, or can you be kicked off ESA before your next annual review?

thank you

healy

bundance wrote: »

I have a friend on ESA, been on it since the beginning of the year, and I may have heard my friend wrong, but it sounds as if they are being forced and pressured into work.

Did I hear my friend wrong, or can you be kicked off ESA before your next annual review?

thank you

You cannot be forced into work whilst claiming ESA, this is a fact.

dmg24

No, they should not be being forced into work. However, they may be attending Pathways interviews, where the advisor may discuss ways to help them back into work.

bundance

dmg24 wrote: »

No, they should not be being forced into work. However, they may be attending Pathways interviews, where the advisor may discuss ways to help them back into work.

When you say "help them back into work" do you mean when the annual review for ESA comes up, or before?

e.g. Can they 'help you back into work' before your next medical?

Also, what if you are too unwell to attend the interviews they ask you to attend?

thank you

dmg24

It might be better to think of it as helping you back towards work, there is no obligation on the claimant to actually seek work.

Sometimes a claimant is actually ready to return to work before their medical. In this situation the JCP (or a Pathways provider) can provide help with the transition, which may be some supported work or possibly voluntary work.

The advisors recognise that sometimes people do have to cancel appts because they are too unwell, however if the claimant repeatedly misses appts this could call their entitlement into question. It may be possible to conduct the interview by phone, or in limited circumstances through a home visit.

bundance

Thank you for clairfying this, I thought I heard my friend say they were being pressured into going back to work, but they are not yet fit for work as illness forced them to leave their job last year and they have ony been on ESA a few months at most.