Just claiming for New Style ESA

TELLIT01

Somebody I know is aware that they don't qualify for UC due to savings and pensions but can't see any way of just claiming New Style ESA.  Even the step by step guide seems to force you to claim UC first.  Is there anyway only to claim ESA and if so could somebody provide a link please.

poppy12345

They can claim online here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance#how-to-apply Or if they can't do that they will need to ring the UC helpline and choose option 3. See link. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/contact-universal-credit

Spoonie_Turtle

They should be able to claim online if they meet the contributions conditions.  

https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/how-to-claim

They will need a fit note to send about 7 days after they claim.  (Not sure if it needs to cover the date they start the claim or not.)

calcotti

If they have a Fit Note to support the period they can backdate the claim by up to 3 months as long as they were not in work or entitled to SSP at the time. claims should be made online using the link provided by poppy.

TELLIT01

He's just had to pack in his job due to a heart attack, now recovering but the firm expects him to work in a warehouse by himself.  Neither he nor I know if he will be able to get a fit note but the option is worth investigating further.  I'll pass the link to him and let him do the rest. 

Thanks for the help everybody.

poppy12345

Did he look at claiming SSP from his employer as this should have been their first option. He will only be able to claim NsESA if he's paid the correct amount of NI contirbutions in tax years 2018 - 2020.

TELLIT01

He has left the job but says he was paying tax and NI prior to leaving. 

poppy12345

It makes no sense why someone would leave a job without claiming SSP because it pays more than New style ESA does to start with. Whether they're entitled to NsESA will depend how long they worked for in the previous tax years mentioned above.

Rubyroobs

When you say they can't claim Uc due to savings and pensions, do you mean he is currently receiving a private pension? If so this may affect new style ESA payments depending on the amount he receives. If you mean he is paying into a pension which he will start receiving at a later date then this won't be a problem.

TELLIT01

poppy12345 said:

It makes no sense why someone would leave a job without claiming SSP because it pays more than New style ESA does to start with. Whether they're entitled to NsESA will depend how long they worked for in the previous tax years mentioned above.

Whether is makes sense or not is irrelevant.  They have left because they didn't feel safe working alone in a warehouse and the employer wasn't interested in doing anything about it.

TELLIT01

Rubyroobs said:

When you say they can't claim Uc due to savings and pensions, do you mean he is currently receiving a private pension? If so this may affect new style ESA payments depending on the amount he receives. If you mean he is paying into a pension which he will start receiving at a later date then this won't be a problem.

He is receipt of a pension, but when I explained the cut off for ESA I was told the amount he receives in pension is not above that figure.  I haven't, and won't, been going into much detail with him but said I would try to find links to information for him.  He collared me at an event we were both attending because he knew I used to work for DWP.  I'm not up to speed fully with current regs so agreed to do that only.