ESA or Universal Credit?

bethlouise_2

I have been told I'd be eligible for ESA if I wanted to claim it, however I have read online that it's a lengthy stressful process.

I quit my job earlier this year (checkouts in Tesco) due to having a mental breakdown, and was eventually diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD, aswell as having an alcohol addiction.

This has happened before and again, it was as a cashier, so I'm guessing customer-based work isn't ideal for me and isn't something I can deal with. (both times I ended up turning to drink before shifts ~ somehow I never got caught or fired)

I would like to work ~ for example I used to work in the back of a shop and I loved it, no breakdowns, no turning to alcohol.. unfortunately that was a zero hour contract and I needed guaranteed hours hence joining tesco ~ and I have been doing the expected 35 hours a week job search, going to meetings at the job centre and all that, but as of joining UC (7th july) I've had quite a few interviews but have had to cancel them all due to my anxiety, so I'm starting to wonder if maybe ESA would be better for me at this moment.

I feel like this last month has been hugely stressful for me and now my first UC payment is late aswell, which obviously isn't helping anything.

Any advice would be great :T

epitome

Certain postcodes in UK are "UC only" postcodes, in those postcodes you cannot claim JSA or ESA anymore it has to be UC.

Also, assuming you are not in a "UC only postcode" .... as you are currently on UC, under the rules of UC you should not be allowed to close UC and claim ESA. If you tried to do this, the ESA New Claims people would tell you "not allowed because you have a 'live UC interest' ". Although JSA C and ESA C are both still available to you.

What should happen, is ....
You are currently on a UC "looking for work" claim.
You get a sick note from your doctor,
You show this to the jobcentre
Your UC "looking for work" status is changed to UC "unable to work due to sickness" status.

You then go through all the processes of being medically assessed as you would have done if you had claimed ESA.

To find out if your postcode is UC only or UC Full Service Area, you could phone the ESA New Claims and ask them 08000 556688

Icequeen99

epitome wrote: »

Certain postcodes in UK are "UC only" postcodes, in those postcodes you cannot claim JSA or ESA anymore it has to be UC.

Also, assuming you are not in a "UC only postcode" .... as you are currently on UC, under the rules of UC you should not be allowed to close UC and claim ESA. If you tried to do this, the ESA New Claims people would tell you "not allowed because you have a 'live UC interest' ".

What should happen, is ....
You are currently on a UC "looking for work" claim.
You get a sick note from your doctor,
You show this to the jobcentre
Your UC "looking for work" status is changed to UC "unable to work due to sickness" status.

You then go through all the processes of being medically assessed as you would have done if you had claimed ESA.

To find out if your postcode is UC only or UC Full Service Area, you could phone the ESA New Claims and ask them 08000 556688

If the OP doesn't want to ring up - there is a postcode checker here https://www.universalcreditinfo.net which tells you if it is full service or live service.

IQ

bethlouise_2

Hi yes I'm aware ESA is UC however I used the different terms to not create confusion.

I was just wondering what people's experiences are when it comes to switching from job-seeking UC to the ESA UC

Is it worth it, or does it create more hassle?

epitome

I can only tell you what ESA is like, I guess UC sickness is almost identical.

ESA is a very straight forward claim to make, very easy and very stress free as long as you know how to manage yourself and your claim what to expect and what not to expect.

ESA requires that you supply a new sicknote from the date your last one expired. ESA will usually extend the end date each sicknote up to 10 days to reach your next pay day of ESA. It is your responsibility to ensure you make an appointment with your doctor in plenty of time so that you have Dr's appointment ready to go to to renew your sicknote at the appropriate date.

It is your resonsibility to ensure that the DWP receives your sicknote in time to release your next ESA payment.

Paragraph X:

The DWP facilitates this process for you by telling you words to this effect:
"If you send anything to us in the post, don't expect it to be recieved for up to 2 weeks, and don't expect it to be processed for at least another week unless it was just a sicknote. If you want us to have it sooner and process it sooner then you can phone us, make a jobcentre appointment to have it scanned, and we will have it within 24hours. For sicknotes alone you do not need to make an appointment you can take a sick note to a jobcentre and they will scan it to ESA so that ESA has it within 24 hours"
And anything I posted to DWP I would send signed for delivery, I would then make an official complaint that DWP have breached the Data Protection Act if they were to tell me it was not recieved when I had proof of delivery, I would then take the DWP to ICE if they did not find it, and to the Information Commisioners Office. Trust me, they would soon find my documents.

ESA will send you an ESA50 shortly after you start your claim to be returned in 28 days, if it is not returned, a reminder will be sent out. If it is not returned by the deadline an ESA claim can be closed as a result. Regardless of whether you receive the initial ESA50 or the reminder or not, it is your responsibility to phone ESA if you do not recieve an ESA50 shortly after making your claim, to make them aware that you have not recieved it. and again and again and again as many times as required until you do receive one. (hint they are available at jobcentres) Asking them on each occasion to write a note on your file that you have phoned and why you phoned. Irrespective of how many times you have phoned to say "I did not get my ESA50" The DWP has a statutory duty to close your ESA claim if the ESA50 has not been returned by the deadline (there is one exception). They then wait until it is recieved (see paragraph X above) and then decide if they can re-open your old claim, they would normally do this if you had been calling to say "I did not recieve it".

Once your ESA50 is recieved, CHDA, Ctr for Health & Disability Assessments, will look at your ESA50 and possibly write to your doctor. At some stage CHDA will decide "We don't need to see this person" = automatic pass entitled to benefit.
"We do need to see this person" = they will make an appointment for you to attend. a WCA, Work Capability Assessment.

The WCA will normally be at the local assessment centre, if you cannot go to the assessment centre it is your responsibilty to request a home visit or a hospital visit WCA. To request such a visit you would normally put the request at the back of your ESA50 and ask your doctor for a supportive letter to show that your doctor agrees that you cannot go to the assessment centre and why. And you would keep in touch regularly with CHDA until CHDA has made a decision on your request (0800 2888777).

If CHDA refuses your request, the WCA will be at your local assesment centre. CHDA will send you a letter more than 7 days in advance of your appointment and send you a text (assuming you make sure they have your correct mobile number). CHDA will allow you to rearrange one appointment. If you fail to attend (FTA) the appointment without rearranging it..... CHDA has a duty to close your medical referral and send your file back to DWP. DWP will then ask you for the reasons why you did not go to your WCA. If you do not provide this with 5 days, DWP will make a decision on the available evidence, and potentially close your ESA claim. When you give your reasons to DWP by phone or by letter (see paragraph X), DWP will look at your reasons and either your claim will remain closed or it will be re-opened.

If re-opened you start the WCA process again.
If remains closed you can make a new claim to ESA, you can also start the appeals procedure.
If you make a new claim (within 6 months of the decision date to close your ESA for FTA WCA) to ESA with a FTA WCA on your record you will not be paid any ESA until you have attended the next WCA that is given to you (unless as part of your new claim the DWP agrees you have a new medical condition or a worsened medical condition) if they do not agree, then you will be referred for a new medical without payment of ESA, you can claim "looking for work" benefit during this time so that you have some money coming in. If you do not want to, that is your choice. You can ask DWP ESA to fasttrack your WCA because you have no money. It will usually take 6 - 8 weeks but could take up to 6 months or more before your next WCA appointment.


My advice to ensure that you do not miss any WCA appointment would be to phone CHDA 08002888777 every week on the same day every week, and ask has my WCA appointment been made yet? This would ensure that you do not miss a WCA for example because "I did not get the appointment letter/text" which, by the way, is not a valid reason for missing a WCA and can and does result in ESA claims being closed for FTA WCA.

It is your responsibility to give DWP an address where you live and an address where you want your post to be delivered. And to keep DWP informed of any changes to your address or phone number.

Very stress free simple process as long as you know how to make sure everything goes smoothly, and as long as you take actions to make sure everything is done in time. If ESA claimants were to read what I wrote here and stick to it, then most of the problems that people report having with ESA would not arise.

Just my opinion of course.

Alice_Holt

Once you have supplied the JC with a fit note, you should receive a UC50 form.
This is effectively the same as an ESA50 form.
Here are some useful resources to help with completing it:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/start-the-esa-test
https://www.rethink.org/living-with-mental-illness/money-issues-benefits-employment/work-capability-assessment

You will need to go to a WCA assessment. ESA is points-based and 15 points are required to be assessed as unfit for work.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/esa-medical-assessment/

Can you get help with the form from your local CAB / advice agency?

Scotchmum7485

Hi all
Sorry for jumping in on your post, new here and no idea how to make a new post ����
I first claimed esa in April 2016 due to having a mental break down after a breakdown in relationship.
I didn't get my esa medical assessment till 30th of May 2017
I failed that assessment. I went to money matters got help with my mandatory reconsideration and today received my letter saying they reviewed my case and put me in support group.

I'm currently getting jsa while my mandatory reconsideration was being done do I need to sign off jsa or will I be moved back to esa automatically!?
And will I get back dated payments !?

Thanks in advance for any help and info
��

poppy12345

Scotchmum7485 wrote: »

Hi all
Sorry for jumping in on your post, new here and no idea how to make a new post ����
I first claimed esa in April 2016 due to having a mental break down after a breakdown in relationship.
I didn't get my esa medical assessment till 30th of May 2017
I failed that assessment. I went to money matters got help with my mandatory reconsideration and today received my letter saying they reviewed my case and put me in support group.

I'm currently getting jsa while my mandatory reconsideration was being done do I need to sign off jsa or will I be moved back to esa automatically!?
And will I get back dated payments !?

Thanks in advance for any help and info
��

You should be moved automatically, if not then ring them. Or you could ring them Monday anyway to check they've moved you over. You'll get backdated money from week 14 of your claim (which is the difference between ESA assessment rate/JSA) Great news on the award BTW!

Scotchmum7485

Thank you for your reply.
I don't know anything about support group to be honest.
The 14th week of my claim would have been around July 2016 it's now August 2017
I think I won't get back dated!
Thanks x

poppy12345

Scotchmum7485 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.
I don't know anything about support group to be honest.
The 14th week of my claim would have been around July 2016 it's now August 2017
I think I won't get back dated!
Thanks x

As you've now been put into the Support group you will indeed be backdated to the 14th week of your claim, regardless of how long that is. When i first claimed ESA i waited just over 11 months for my face 2 face assessment. I was put into the support group and had all the money backdated to week 14 of my claim. As said previuosly you'll be paid the difference between what you have been getting for JSA and the support group rate.

Scotchmum7485

Thanks very much for your reply.
I'm absolutely clueless on all of this and there letters hardly give any details, hence why I had to join a forum to try and find out.
Should I phone them tomorrow to find out if I've been automatically moved over to esa again !? X