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irESA (Support Group), potentially starting an apprenticeship

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9 months 4 weeks ago #285872 by ionized
I have a (not common!) chance to start an apprenticeship in a field that interests me, close to where I live (even rarer!) and paying a salary comparable to non-apprenticeship positions of a similar nature (exceptional, most apprenticeships I've seen have offered insulting pay, £10k-£15k a year, meaning I could not take them as I'd be unable to pay rent).

However, I'm on income-related ESA (Support Group, claim started in April 2017, SG status granted Spring/Summer 2018), Housing Benefit and receive Adult Disability Payment. I do not claim Child Tax Credits.

I have no idea what's going to happen to any of my benefits if I start work, and I am uncertain I'll be able to afford the rent on my council flat if I take the job and lose all other benefits.

My questions are thus:
  • Will this outright end my irESA claim?
  • Will it trigger a natural migration to UC instead?
  • If it does trigger a natural migration, will I lose LCWRA based on the fact I can do a desk job?

For the last point: the apprenticeship is for an office-based administrative job, one of the only jobs I can still do. I am uncertain, but I think I was granted Support Group status based on my mobility issues, and Social Security Scotland have helpfully sent me an official document telling me I am considered to be unable to walk more than 50 metres at a go, due to pain and danger of injury via partial dislocation. This would, under the current rules, qualify me for SG/LCWRA outright. However, I can find no useful guidance on what'll happen to my irESA claim if I start working a full-time job beyond Permitted Work hours.

I don't believe the job requires me to do anything that contradicts my ADP claim — I was awarded points in the social/communication section, but the reasoning was primarily due to discrimination and hostility from other people. All of my eligible conditions are lifelong, and my ADP review isn't for another few years. My condition has not improved in the meantime, and I am only going to inform ADP to see if there's some kind of extra super-secret assistance fund for disabled workers (beyond Access to Work); I intend on telling them the truth: I have found a job that I can do despite my illness, with no improvement in my illness, as long as Access to Work play along.

I intend on contacting my local council and Citizens Advice Scotland to figure out what'll happen to my Housing Benefit, as all online resources have been supremely unhelpful.

However, I am uncertain if chancing this apprenticeship will be worth it. I am still quite young, in my early 30s, and while I am never going to get "better", health-wise, nothing I have is progressive or life-limiting; I can look forward to several decades of intractable pain, fatigue and migraines, safe in the knowledge that if I were going to either die or get better, it'd have happened by now. I am horrifically bored in unemployment, but for various reasons, have been unable to find a job that I can do with my (many) physical limitations. This is an opportunity I don't want to lose, but it's also a significant gamble. I am honestly at a loss as to how to proceed..

Thank you for any advice you may be able to offer.
The following user(s) said Thank You: KABTT

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9 months 3 weeks ago #285905 by Gary
Hi ionized

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum.

We cannot give you any advice as we do not know you, what I will say is your IR ESA would stop if you work over 16 hrs pw unless you come under permitted hour, you must fill in a permitted work PW1 form before you start work, we would advise you to seek advice from your local Welfare Rights Organisation and Citizens Advice Scotland www.gov.uk/government/publications/emplo...itted-work-factsheet

Gary

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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