Universal credit and submitting fitnotes dont mean a thing! ESA scrapped ...

TELLIT01

dktreesea wrote: »

So what happens, in a UC area, if you are applying for a benefit because you are unfit to work? Presumably, if not already on UC, you can still apply for ESA? Does anyone know? Should UC even accept a claim in those circumstances? I don't see how, given to get UC in the first instance you have to be fit for work.

UC is supposed to take over from most Income Related benefits such as Income Support, JSA and ESA(I say most because I'm sure there will be areas they don't take over). Contribution based ESA and JSA will remain separate. Why Conts based aren't included I have no idea, and nobody ever seemed to be able to come up with a sensible reason either.
Currently, the type of claim being accepted by many UC offices is limited to single people who are fit for work.

dktreesea

For contribution based ESA, I think from memory you have to have been paying into the system for two years before you can get it? And even then, it depends on how much you paid in NI, not just how long you paid in, before you can get it?


Maybe therefore, anyone who, at the moment, is entitled to contributions based ESA would have been in work, and if low income part of the WTC regime, prior to UC coming to their area?


Even then though, say someone has been working for the last two years, paid enough in NI to be entitled to contribution based benefits, gets laid off so now wants to go onto JSA contributions based. Is that still possible in a UC area?


ESA told me that once someone is in the UC system they can't apply for ESA - they have to do it all from within UC. But the UC people say they don't cover claims for contributory based ESA.

MasterMind

An update..

I went to my second interview this morning and my fit note has been accepted... I still have to look for work as that's an agreement everyone has to make until i get assessed... its almost a month since i made the claim online but I'm due a first payment in the middle of may, cause i asked my coach today... so its a 3 weeks wait after you sign a commitment agreement... so all in all.. its about 6 weeks wait..

Its a long process it just takes time...

TELLIT01

MasterMind wrote: »

An update..

I went to my second interview this morning and my fit note has been accepted... I still have to look for work as that's an agreement everyone has to make until i get assessed...

It seems somewhat pointless to be applying for jobs when you have a fit note. I can just imagine the conversation with a potential employer...
Employer "When can you start?"
You "Well I'm signed off sick by my GP at the moment so I can't give a date".......