esa,sicknote and NI contributions advice please.

carebear13

Hi everyone,
i have been claiming ssp but this has now finished and my gp has been signing me off for family circumstances. i had only recently returned to work from mat leave and prior to that i only worked part time so NI conts are pretty non existant.

i know i wont be able to claim income based esa, but what about the other?
also would my gp need to specify the full details on the sicknote(not a problem if he does)?
if i fill in a form does it get declined or accepted straight away and then you go into the 13 weeks wait or do you just have to wait 13 weeks for a decision either way?

thanks.

Torry_Quine

If you haven't sufficient NI contributions and can't get income based then you can't get ESA at all but could claim for NI credits only which go towards state pension. The GP will probably put what they've been putting up till now.

Caz3121

There are 2 types of ESA
Contributions based that would be based on your NI contributions in the tax years 10/11 and 11/12
Income based which can be paid if you do not have enough contributions, do not have savings and do not have a working partner

epitome

ESA Conts is based on how much you earned during 10/11 & 11/12

1st condition will be that in one of those tax years you would need to have earned £2,522 or £2,652

2nd condition
50 x NI credits from benefits or earnings of £4,850 & £5,100 in both tax years. Or a combination of the NI credits and earnings.
If you have had Child Benefit in your name for those tax years that will satisfy the 2nd condition. If no child benefit, then other benefits that were claimed would help you.

Why are you not eligible for ESA IR?

If you are sure you are not eligible for ESA IR then claim ESA Conts.... the DWP will tell you if you are eligible for it. If you are not then you will get NI credits.

carebear13

Do i need to have actually had NI deducted from my wages? i have children that i claim cb for, so does that count?

thank you both for your replies.

carebear13

hi, sorry cross posted. year end 2012 i earned approx 8000, the year before that was just over 4000,
my husband works at more than minimum wage so think it puts us over the threshold. i have been claiming carers allowance for my daughter, but only since 1st september.

carebear13

so in theory then i should satisfy both conditions one way or another. how does the 13 week thing work?

Torry_Quine

carebear13 wrote: »

so in theory then i should satisfy both conditions one way or another. how does the 13 week thing work?

You get assesement rate for approx 13 weeks and will then be assessed as to which group if any you are entitled to be in. If more than 13 weeks any increase is back-dated till then,

You mention carer's allowance though and I would think that you can't get both paid to you at the same time.

rogerblack

carebear13 wrote: »

Hi everyone,
i have been claiming ssp but this has now finished and my gp has been signing me off for family circumstances.

Do you have a disability or illness?

epitome

How many hours a week does your partner work?

Sounds like you willl qualify for ESA Conts, but you can't get this and Carers Allowance at the same time, you will have to end Carers Allowance.

If you are over 25
£71.70 for the first 13 weeks.
Then after your assessment, if you pass, you get an extra £28.45 (for 365 days) or £34.80 per week (for the life of the claim)

carebear13

he is currently working minimum of 3 days a week depending on circumstances at home. so i would cancel the carers allowance as soon as i fill the form in, and once i can get back to work i can then end my claim and reclaim carers allowance again as i will be doing very reduced hours.

rogerblack- stress and depression i suppose it would come under. you probably dont remember but my 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer early in may.
thanks everyone.