ESA and 'Permitted work'. Potential DWP trap?

acrimonious

Hi. Not sure whether I should put this in the benefits or work section so hope I got it right.

I have searched the forums (and wider internet) but I'm struggling to find anything up to date - lots of threads from 2016-2017 but things change. I've been to the CAB who were unable to offer much help. I have not as yet contacted the DWP or Jobcentre for the reasons below.

I am forty-three years old. I have worked full time since leaving school but suffered both recurrent and chronic mental health problems including a number of hospitalisations, the last in 2016. This ultimately led to the loss of my fifteen year (NHS) career in 2017 after a great deal of sick leave and support from both management and Occupational Health over the years. My employer ultimately terminated my employment over a dubious technicality but I was too exhausted to appeal with no union or legal representation.

As a result of this I was referred to my regulatory body and remain suspended as of now, my next and final hearing will be in the second half of 2020. I have been given a number of measurable goals to meet before this date and face being struck off on grounds of incapacity should I fail to meet them. The only target I am really failing to meet at this point is some form of return to voluntary or paid employment.

My life collapsed after the loss of my career and by 2018 I was in permanent crisis and homeless. After a long period stuck on assessment I was awarded Support Group Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). I was very fortunate to be allocated a sympathetic housing officer who accepted a full duty of care based on my mental health. This in turn led to a secure tenancy on a housing association property for which I will be eternally grateful. Aquiring this 'base of operations' has allowed me to make significant progress in addressing my issues and I am as good as I have ever been.

I currently receive ESA (Support Group) with the disability premium, full housing benefit covering my rent (roughly £380pcm) and council tax relief. I have not claimed PiP. I was awarded a Debt Relief Order (DRO) on nearly twenty thousand pounds, owed to numerous creditors. This was discharged last year, leaving me effectively debt free apart from court fines and child support which are deducted from my benefits.

I am feeling somewhat stagnated and concerned about the 'benefit trap'. It would be easy to continue living/existing like this and I forsee the years flying by without significant change. My modest income makes contact with my children impossible without family support as they are many hundreds of miles away from me.

I need to move into work but this triggers a great deal of anxiety after so many jobs have gone 'wrong' when my mental health has faltered. I have however developed far more robust coping strategies over the last few years and distanced myself from the substance abuse I have used to cope in the past. I have no criminal convictions and have never faced a disciplinary action outside of absence management.

I live in constant fear of the dreaded Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) 'reassessment' which could take away my benefits at any time, not to mention the introduction of Universal Credit (UC) being inevitable making it even harder though I'm not in an area immediately threatened. I would prefer not to rely on benefits long term.

I was initially looking at undertaking some voluntary work but have been advised this would trigger an immediate reassessment from the DWP - I am unsure if this is correct.

I am also unclear on how paid 'permitted work' applies. Surely the DWP view will be if I'm well enough to do a few hours I'm well enough to work full stop? I'm terrified of Jobseekers Allowance and it's associated stresses. I'm miles from a Job Centre and afraid of the associated harassment and sanctions.

In a perfect world I would retrain as I am not enthused about returning to the NHS in its current state. I'd just like to exit my profession on my own terms. It does not seem that I could return to full time education while on ESA unless receiving PiP, and I do not feel my current condition would warrant the award, though it is true to say my 'bad days' remain 'bad'. The same would apply at any reassessment.

My main query therefore is how realistic undertaking 'permitted work' would be without ending up in an even more difficult position. I would be unable to survive without my current income and will be vulnerable returning to work as my ability to cope with this stress is untested. I have no doubt my GP would fully support any such attempt.

If I was to obtain, for example, a minimum wage job working eight to sixteen hours a week would I end up 'worse off' and unable to 'go back' if I prove unable to manage it? It appears to me that there is no real benefit to voluntary work over paid work, especially with the £131 allowance which would allow me to consider running a vehicle again (I'm somewhat isolated without). I'm afraid I have little trust or confidence in the DWP under the current administration.

One more thing - is it worth paying the £20 to join the "Benefits and Work' site?

I am sorry for how long this 'essay' has proved to be, feel free to disregard everything up until the last four paragraphs.

cattie

acrimonious wrote: »

One more thing - is it worth paying the £20 to join the "Benefits and Work' site?

Absolutely in my opinion if you feel you need professional advice on making a successful claim for any disability benefits. I read & was guided by their guides when my DLA claim was being changed over to PIP & ended up with a higher award than I'd had previously.

I also helped a friend with mental health issues with her ESA claim using the guides on the B&W site & she had a successful claim & later went on to have a successful PIP claim.

£20 is a small price to pay for help as to how to word your disabilities & how they affect your day to day life on the claim forms.
in the most effective way

poppy12345

Permitted work rules state it must be less than 16 hours per week. Whether it goes against you when you're next reassessed or prompts an earlier review will totally depend on the work you do and the reasons why you're claiming ESA. If the work you do contradicts the reasons you're claiming then yes it could go against you.

calcotti

Although you have expressed a fear of UC I would point out that if you were on UC you would probably be receiving more money than on ESA while not working. UC does not have any permitted work rules. You can simply start working and increase your hours of work as you see fit with your UC gradually reducing as you earn more.

However if doing permitted work on ESA close to the maximum earnings permitted you can be slightly better off than on US because the income from the permitted work is ignored whereas it will affect the amount of UC you receive. The figures below explain this.

Single ESA claimant in Support Group £128.45/week
Single claimant on UC with LCWRA £654.02/month (£150.92/week, a gain of £22.47/week)

Single ESA claimant in Support Group £128.45/week earning say £130/week under permitted work rules. Income = ESA £128.45 + £130 earnings = £258.45. But there is a cliff edge in that as soon as you cross £131.50 the ESA ends so you have to work significantly more to earn back that £128.45 before you show an income gain.

Single claimant on UC with LCWRA earning £130/week. Earnings are £563.33/month. First £287 are ignored, there is a deduction of £174.09/month. UC payable is therefore £479.93. Plus earnings this is £1,043.26/month or £240.75/week. This is slightly less than the ESA comparator but the cliff edge has gone which means that you can gradually increase your earnings and see a benefit. You also have flexibility to do some extra work some weeks if that is an option.

The above figures assume a housing element is in payment but I have ignored it as the housing element will (in most cases) be the same as Housing Benefit amount. They are based on a single claimant aged over 25 with no other income and no savings above £6,000.

In both cases doing work may increase the likelihood of a new Work Capability Assessment.

calcotti

acrimonious wrote: »

One more thing - is it worth paying the £20 to join the "Benefits and Work' site?

I am told that it is very good but would point out that there other sites which are freely accessible where information is also available. For example
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/
https://wcainfo.net

Alice_Holt

Have you taken advice on a potential PIP claim?

A successful claim could increase your income significantly -
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Severe-Disability-Premium/What-is-a-Severe-Disability-Premium

PIP, of course, is not an out of work benefit.

I think the B & W guides are very good.
If you do decide on a PIP claim, then I think they would be worth the £20 for the info on how to write the form on mental health grounds.
Sample pages - http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/images/image/samples/dla/sample_pip_jan17_v24.pdf