ESA - Support Group - Self Employed

wholesouled

Hi

I need some advice as my situation is driving me mad. It's a long story so get comfortable!

I will start by stating that permitted work in the support group and supported permitted work are different - both have no 52 week rule. The no 52 week rule is qualified differently by each category - if you do supported permitted work you get help by an organization or charity. If you are in the support group and do permitted work then there is a category for those not required to have a work assessment due to the severity of their illness there is also no 52 week rule { this is the category I am in and these two categories are the ones the DWP staff always get mixed up as I will explain)

My situation firstly is that I am in the support group on ESA not required to have a work assesment and at the beginning of the year I looked into doing some work - mostly to help with the stigma of not having to mention my health as to why I was not working.

Anyway i was told repeatedly that there was a 52 week limit - this put me off as the thought of the change after a year was too much (i have bipolar).

After being told by several DWP members that it was limited to 52 weeks (and by going by the info on .gov website) I almost gave up.

Eventually through other forums I found that if in the support group and not required to have a work assessment you can indeed work and not be limited to the 52 week rule even if you are not doing supported permitted work(help from an organization) (although this is not advertised on the government websites) after having this information and still being told no by the DWP I was so sick of the hassle I found a job applied for the DWP1 form and filled it in. -

I was glad to see there was an option for the no 52 week rule on the form (for those in the support group not required to have a work assessment) (this being an different option to doing supported permitted work)- why this is not advertised on the gov website I will let you decide. The form came back and that was that since March.

Saying that if you phone up DWP as I have for more info they still tell me there is an error and I should be getting help by a support group. They are completely untrained - they see no difference between being in the support group and doing supported permitted work! - These are different things and are shown different on the DWP1 form although the DWP call staff and office staff do not understand this - all be it the decision makers on the DWP1 department do get it right. ]

(I will at this point say I did receive an apology and was told by the .gov website that the information would be updated to reflect the difference between being in the support group and doing supported permitted work. Nothing changed . . . )

Anyway the lack of DWP training almost made me ill and drove me to giving up which is ironic as the idea is that it helps me get back to work!

Now getting to my recent problem... (stay with me)

The job i took was a basic sales/admin job just for 14 hours however I was promoted to sales manager and now the job is proving too stressful so i am looking for something else. (After failing to find a job whereby I could help in the communication between the DWP1 form decision makers and the DWP staff!)

My options were another employed job or self employed.

The advantage of self employed is that I can work few hours. I phoned DWP again and could not get passed the first problem ive just mentioned without telling the whole story all over again!

It is clear that you can be self employed or employed doing permitted work however my question is this - has anyone had experience of being self employed and in the support group ( that is not required to have a work assessment) (not the same as supported permitted work where you get help by a charity or organization) ?

I am sure the same would apply being self employed and being in the support group and not limited to 52 weeks however I can take going through the same hassle as before so my options are to get the PW1 form and do the same again as the staff are just useless even having the wrong weekly amount you can earn!

If someone is in the same situation could you tell me how it works I have been self employed so that is no problem but as regards ESA how often do you have to hand in your books is it at the end of the tax year or every set period? Is it a lot of hassle being self employed and on ESA?

A bit long winded but thanks for any help!

PHILANTHROPIST

Interesting conundrum.

I genuinely hope a member can help you. If not, have you been to see or ask for a CAB specialist advisor ; they will surely have previously encountered this scenario.

My only comment would be the usual word of caution. Regardless of being in Support Group, you may end up being punished for merely undertaking permitted work. Some official/ jobsworth may consider that you are showing signs of being fit for work and you may eventually, or even shortly, be invited to attend an assessment.

My friend has bipolar and I recognise that it is a greatly fluctuating and on occasions hugely debilitating condition, but will the DWP / ATOS/ Maximus team take due account of your condition !?

pmlindyloo

You are right in that if you are in the support group then there is no time limit to doing permitted work.

Permitted work also covers self employment.

Usually income from self employment is assessed on the previous tax year's figures but if you have only recently started they will use another period of assessment.

Read about it here:

http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/work-people-living-disability-or-health-conditions

wholesouled

Thanks both!

PHILANTHROPIST
CAB could not give me a definite answer seems the support group confuses a few. As to back to work I feel better doing a few hours anyway so for just now it helps things change so much I try not to worry to far ahead.

pmlindyloo

I have been self employed before however I wondered if you have to hand in your books more often that the normal self employed procedure - is there more detailed info regarding esa and self employed permitted work and actually what the process is?

jajjan

wholesouled wrote: »

Thanks both!

PHILANTHROPIST
CAB could not give me a definite answer seems the support group confuses a few. As to back to work I feel better doing a few hours anyway so for just now it helps things change so much I try not to worry to far ahead.

pmlindyloo

I have been self employed before however I wondered if you have to hand in your books more often that the normal self employed procedure - is there more detailed info regarding esa and self employed permitted work and actually what the process is?

Iwould like to know this as well!

TELLIT01

I would suspect, but don't know for a fact, that self-employment would be looked at on a more regular basis than employed work. There would likely be checks to ensure that you weren't working over the permitted work hours, or earning more than the permitted amount.
Reference the 'jobsworth' comment, there is a duty on the ESA staff to ensure that rules are being adhered to, but with staff being extremely stretched just covering general day-to-day work few have the luxury of playing the jobsworth role. A friend of mine suffers from severe OCD and depression and is in the SG. He does some permitted work and doesn't have any 'trouble' from DWP. He did have an experience some time ago where an idiot suspended payment when he simply enquired about the rules surrounding permitted work but that's another story.

KellyKoo

Just because you are in the Support Group of ESA, does not mean you are exempt from a ESA50 WCA. The maximum time you get without an assessment when in the Support Group of ESA is 3 years.


I got 3 year in 2014, due for reassessment in 2017. I have Bipolar also.

jajjan

I got a letter saying they will assess me. But info from doctor prevented them from assessing. And i have carried on getting ESA. I would like to get into self employment (ebay reselling). I'm just worried if I still can get housing benefit and or some other benefits when i'm try to make a living on ebay?