HEALTH ASSESSMENT ADVISORY SERVICE

have sent off the letter for reconsideration , went down to jsa sign on told tem about certificate lasts til nov, told that its no longer valid,and if he want to go down that line he needed to get a new certificate and take it in on his signing on day, done that only to be told because esa found him fit to work they cant accept his sicknote ???
any ideas if this is right pls

whitewitch wrote: have sent off the letter for reconsideration , went down to jsa sign on told tem about certificate lasts til nov, told that its no longer valid,and if he want to go down that line he needed to get a new certificate and take it in on his signing on day, done that only to be told because esa found him fit to work they cant accept his sicknote ???
any ideas if this is right pls

Hi ww,

This is a game of "ping pong" that JSA sometimes play !!!

They should not have told you that you needed to obtain and present a fresh fit note when you first "signed on".

You cannot make a fresh claim for JSA whilst also presenting a fit note stating that you are unfit for work.

Once you have been found fit for work due to an ESA Assessment this decision supercedes any existing fit note that you may have at the time.

i.e. In the eyes of the law and The DWP you are fit for work

If you wish to claim JSA to gain some income whilst the MR process is ongoing, you can make a fresh JSA claim, they cannot stop you, but you must keep any fit notes that you have, and not present them to JSA.

You should be able to arrange for a Job Seekers Agreement with reduced conditionality to take into account any limitations/disabilities that you suffer whilst the MR is ongoing.

If your MR is unsuccessful, you can then appeal directly to The Tribunal Service. (TS)

Once the TS have accepted your appeal, you can then revert back to ESA at the Assessment Rate, it is then that you should present your fit notes to ESA.

See this extract :

"Claiming JSA during an ESA dispute

You can claim jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) while you are disputing an ESA dispute without prejudicing your case that you are entitled to ESA. You must, however, satisfy the jobseeking conditions and need to be aware of the restrictions you can place on your jobseeking activity without risking a disallowance or sanction.

It is important to understand that you cannot claim JSA if you state that you are too sick to work. This can result in a ‘revolving door scenario of being told you cannot claim ESA because you are fit to work and cannot claim JSA because you are unfit to work.

You need to :

insist on your right to make a JSA claim, even though you are disputing an ESA decision and are covered by a current medical certificate, when you make your telephone claim and attend your initial interview at the jobcentre with a ‘work coach';

agree a ‘claimant commitment’ which sets out details of your availability for work and work seeking activity, taking into account realistic and allowable restrictions in the light of your medical condition (see p1057-8 of the Handbook);

satisfy the jobseeking conditions of being available for work and actively seeking work (see chapter 47 of the Handbook)."

From : CPAG-On-Line

This Topic covers the scenario of when you have appealed and wish to revert back to ESA.

Once you have a JSA Claim up and running, if as result of your medical conditions/illness you cannot fulfil your Job Seekers Agreement, you can then present a fit note and you are allowed an "Extended Period of Sickness" of up to 13 weeks, whilst still being entitled to JSA.

"(5) After regulation 55 insert—

Extended period of sickness

55ZA.—(1) This regulation applies to a person who—

(a)has been awarded a jobseeker’s allowance;

(b)proves to the satisfaction of the Department that he is unable to work on account of some specific disease or disablement;

(c)either—

(i)i)declares that he has been unable to work, or expects to be unable to work, on account of that disease or disablement for more than 2 weeks but he does not expect to be unable to work on account of that disease or disablement for more than 13 weeks;

or

(ii)is not a person to whom regulation 55(1) (short periods of sickness) applies by virtue of paragraph (3) of that regulation;"

From : www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2015/138/made

Provision was already there for short periods of sickness that didn't exceed 2 weeks, no more than twice in a JSA/12 month period.

However, with the introduction of the 30/03/15 amendment "“Extended period of sickness- JSA Regulation 55ZA, if they present a fit note, they should be allowed an extended period of up to 13 weeks of sickness, without having to close their JSA claim and claim ESA.

Here is an : Explanatory Note on the subject.


To sum up, you can insist that they accept your JSA claim as you have now been classed as fit for work under The ESA WCA, (JSA should be well aware of this) but, do not present a fit note.

Keep obtaining the fit notes to cover you from the date of the fit for work decision, but keep them safe until you have to revert back to ESA if your MR is unsuccessful and you have to appeal.

Claiming JSA as above cannot be used against you in your ESA MR/Appeal.

If you can manage without the JSA income whilst the MR is ongoing, you should still make sure that you have fresh fit notes from your G.P. to cover you from the date of the fit for work decision.

If you have to appeal, once that is accepted by The TS, you can then present the fit notes to ESA.

You would then be entitled to back payment of ESA Assessment Rate from the date of the fit for work decision which would continue until your Tribunal's decision.

Obviously, if you claim and receive JSA, you will only receive ESA Assessment Rate from the day after your JSA claim is closed.

i.e. You cannot receive payments of JSA and ESA covering the same period of time, it's either/or

bro58

I am not yet in this situation, but could find myself so. It is likely that I would have enough income, not to claim JSA for a time. But, what concerns me is that I presume I will only receive National Insurance credits if I am in receipt of JSA and would have to claim for this reason. I do not have 35 years of NI payments and credits. I know that I am jumping the gun but it would be one less uncertainty if I knew the answer. Many thanks.

Thanks Gordon, I presume that I need NI credits or payments for a full 52 weeks for that year to be counted towards my NI contribution record. Do you know if it is possible to make voluntary NI payments for any gaps due to not receiving ESA or JSA even though I would not be working?