ESA Help (re: Permitted Work)

ESANovice

Hi,

I am currently petrified. Here's why...

I didn't know I had to declare voluntary work. I started volunteering last July.
I had ESA covered for a year (from June last year to June this year). Prior to that I had been sending sick notes every month from about March (so about three months). But then they signed me off for ESA for a year without having to produce new evidence.
I went for a new assessment a couple of weeks ago. One of the letters they had managed to get hold of was from a clinician I saw in January where I talked about how I had been making progress with my depression (that I'd been volunteering etc).
This will be the first the DWP will have heard of it. Will I be sanctioned because, while I hadn't declared the voluntary work (less than 16 hours per week), they will now have found out about it?

[Deleted User]

Its possible they won't put 2+2 together, but theres nothing you can do, as in you can't undo the voluntary work you have done.

Diary

ESANovice wrote: »

Hi,

I am currently petrified. Here's why...

I didn't know I had to declare voluntary work. I started volunteering last July.
I had ESA covered for a year (from June last year to June this year). Prior to that I had been sending sick notes every month from about March (so about three months). But then they signed me off for ESA for a year without having to produce new evidence.
I went for a new assessment a couple of weeks ago. One of the letters they had managed to get hold of was from a clinician I saw in January where I talked about how I had been making progress with my depression (that I'd been volunteering etc).
This will be the first the DWP will have heard of it. Will I be sanctioned because, while I hadn't declared the voluntary work (less than 16 hours per week), they will now have found out about it?

As you now know you should've declared it, have you written and told them you started volunteering over a year ago? This is by far the right thing to do - if you don't the future consequences could be much worse .

It's unlikely the DWP will put 2 and 2 together from a letter regarding your assessment but they will find out at some point.

50Twuncle

This is unpaid work - so they cannot use this as a means to reduce your benefit
Plus - it could be classed as "BENEFICIAL FOR YOUR RECOVERY" - meeting people
So I see no problems

tomtom256

50Twuncle wrote: »

This is unpaid work - so they cannot use this as a means to reduce your benefit
Plus - it could be classed as "BENEFICIAL FOR YOUR RECOVERY" - meeting people
So I see no problems

Although it could contradict why you claim and could affect your entitlement.

Thats the problem with unpaid and paid work, they both can be beneficial to health but not to your entitlement.

Say you declare you can not leave the house for whatever reason and then suddenly the DWP find out you have been working voluntary at a shop etc. It might be unpaid, but they will argue that if you can do it unpaid, you can do it paid. It also shows that you can leave the house.

50Twuncle

What about 'permitted work' - paid work up to a set amount - that can be earned without it affecting benefits ?
will they try to use that against the OP ?
https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/eligibility
£20 per week from any source or £115 per week supported employment
You are worrying unnecessarily !!!

tomtom256

50Twuncle wrote: »

What about 'permitted work' - paid work up to a set amount - that can be earned without it affecting benefits ?
will they try to use that against the OP ?
https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/eligibility
£20 per week from any source or £115 per week supported employment
You are worrying unnecessarily !!!

Potentially, but it still needs to be declared and authorised in the first place!

It's not do what you like until you get court.

I am not worrying just saying it how it is, as a fraud investigator this is the type of thing I look at day in day out.