ESA

Hi I receive DLA high rate mobility and middle rate care. I currently work but due to my medical conditions I feel that I just can't continue to do so. I need an income and would hope to apply for ESA but do not know how to go about it.

1. Can I leave work and then send sick lines dated from the first Monday of unemployment or

2. Do I have to be paid off by my employer to be able to qualify?

Can anyone help as I have never been unemployed (I know I am very lucky in this regard) but really don't know the first thing about how to go about claiming this.

Hi Holly, you can claim ESA as long as you are not receiving Statutory Sick Pay from your employer, whether or not you are still technically employed. You will need a sick note from your GP to support your claim. The intial contact can be made by phone, or you can send in a form, that will get the process started and initiate the payment of the assessment rate. At some stage you will receive an ESA50 form that will require you to give details of your limitations and you might be required to have a face2face assessment. The whole process is very backlogged and many claimants are waiting many months for an assessment/decision.

This link tells you what you need to initiate a claim

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

and our ESA guides will help with the rest of the process

ESA claims and appeals

ESA FAQs



If/when you have further questions, please reply to this post and we will do our best to help