missing a wfi - esa wrag

jane87

hi, a friend of mine missed a work focussed interview last Tuesday. She is on esa in the wrag and is claiming for depression. She sent a letter to her jobcentre to say that she did not feel well enough to attend and asked for a postponement but has received no reply.

can the jobcentre sanction you without informing you by letter? if she missed it last Tuesday , when would they impose the sanction from?

would a sanction affect housing benefit and council tax benefit?

thanks

bestpud

jane87 wrote: »

hi, a friend of mine missed a work focussed interview last Tuesday. She is on esa in the wrag and is claiming for depression. She sent a letter to her jobcentre to say that she did not feel well enough to attend and asked for a postponement but has received no reply.

can the jobcentre sanction you without informing you by letter? if she missed it last Tuesday , when would they impose the sanction from?

would a sanction affect housing benefit and council tax benefit?

thanks

I don't know about the sanction but I'd say yes from what people say on here.

If she is sanctioned, they will inform the council and they will almost certainly stop her Housing and Council Tax benefit.

However, they aren't linked so she is still entitled to them. She will need to contact the council and explain she has received a sanction but she still wishes to claim HB and CTB.

Horseunderwater

And if the sanction does happen she will lose £71.70 per week now as they take away the main element leaving people with just the ESA WRAG part. So more important than ever to go to these things.

Raksha

Horseunderwater wrote: »

And if the sanction does happen she will lose £71.70 per week now as they take away the main element leaving people with just the ESA WRAG part. So more important than ever to go to these things.

Have you ever been depressed? I mean severly depressed?

Horseunderwater

What has being depressed got to do with my posting. Personally I have not been, but I my husband has so yes I do know what it is like to live with that. Thankfully the medication that he is on now controls it well. All I was trying to do was tell you what would happen on the monetary front.

Raksha

Horseunderwater wrote: »

What has being depressed got to do with my posting. Personally I have not been, but I my husband has so yes I do know what it is like to live with that. Thankfully the medication that he is on now controls it well. All I was trying to do was tell you what would happen on the monetary front.

The OPs friend is claiming ESA for depression. Severe depression can over rule even basic needs like eating and drnking, so its quite feasible that the depression doesn't allow the claimant to recognise that the *need* to attend

epitome

Raksha wrote: »

The OPs friend is claiming ESA for depression. Severe depression can over rule even basic needs like eating and drnking, so its quite feasible that the depression doesn't allow the claimant to recognise that the *need* to attend

Such an argument is only valid for an appeal against the almost inevitable sanction.

If they claim as a single person they will lose their main component £71.70 a week, if they are a couple they will lose £112.55 a week.

The fastest way to get the sanction lifted would be to phone the JC and arrange a new appointment.

She could phone ESA now and ask if a sanction has already been applied.

As to when the sanction will run from, it will be applied retrospectively from the date of the missed appointment.

She can also pick up an ESA10 to apply for "hardship", she will need a hardship appointment/interview aswell to have her form entered. She can apply for backdated hardship to the date of the sanction started but only if the personal advisor accepts that she has been in hardship sice it was started. otherwise it (hardship) is paid from the date the form is returned (presumably the date of the hardship interview).

ESA hardship is paid at 60% of the personal allowance rate (60% of £112.55 or £71.70) .... I am not sure if this 60% includes the WRAG component or if you get the 60% rate on top of the WRAG component

I don't know about HB and CTB being stopped, but it would seem unlikely given that the ESA award will still be open and in payment for WRAG component.