ESA as a result of suffering from depression

Dear All,

I have been suffering from severe depression and my GP has told me that I am unfit to work. She is however not expecting to me to be off sick long term. She's put me on anti depressants and will assess my improvements from one month to the next.

Is it sea I apply for and how long is the application process. I have a couple of friends who were self employed like myself. They both became quite unwell. Friend no1 did not receive payments for 12 weeks. The last time I spoke to friend no2 (who was hospitalised) she had not received esa payments even after 12 weeks after applying for it.

having hear of these cases, i am deeply concerned as I am uncertain how I will survive for 12 weeks without payment. can anyone shed some light on this matter or offer some reassurance?

with best wishes
has

Has wrote: Dear All,

I have been suffering from severe depression and my GP has told me that I am unfit to work. She is however not expecting to me to be off sick long term. She's put me on anti depressants and will assess my improvements from one month to the next.

Is it sea I apply for and how long is the application process. I have a couple of friends who were self employed like myself. They both became quite unwell. Friend no1 did not receive payments for 12 weeks. The last time I spoke to friend no2 (who was hospitalised) she had not received esa payments even after 12 weeks after applying for it.

having hear of these cases, i am deeply concerned as I am uncertain how I will survive for 12 weeks without payment. can anyone shed some light on this matter or offer some reassurance?

with best wishes
has

Hi H,

Once you make a : Claim for ESA and submit a fit note from your G.P.

DWP will check whether you have enough NI Contributions for entitlement to payment of Contribution Based (CB) ESA.

If you haven't you will be financially assessed for entitlement to payment of Income Related (IR) ESA.

If you are entitled to payment as above, payment should be made within a week or so.

You will initially receive Assessment Rate ESA which is currently £73.10/Week for a single over 25 year old.

You will continue to receive this until you have received an ESA50 and gone through the ESA Assessment process.

If after being assessed you are placed into The WRAG or The SG, the extra WRAG or SG component will be paid from the start of week 14 of your claim.

See the following : ESA Claims Guides

Unfortunately, there is no stipulation in ESA Legislation with regards to how long DWP take to Assess you under The ESA WCA.

Once 13 weeks have passed you could contact them and ask that they fast-track your WCA if you are suffering financial difficulty.

bro58

Thank you for this succinct informative response, I really appreciate it.

Am pretty sure that I will be receiving income based ESA. I am a single parent with I one dependant child, aged 18 who is currently in fully time education. Would I be correct in assuming that the Assessment ESA rate would remain at £73.10?

Also would I be correct in understanding that once I have submitted the sick note from my Doctor I will receive the assessment rate ESA payment within 1 week and that these payments would continue until they have assessed me without any further hurdles?

Has wrote: Thank you for this succinct informative response, I really appreciate it.

Am pretty sure that I will be receiving income based ESA. I am a single parent with I one dependant child, aged 18 who is currently in fully time education. Would I be correct in assuming that the Assessment ESA rate would remain at £73.10?

Also would I be correct in understanding that once I have submitted the sick note from my Doctor I will receive the assessment rate ESA payment within 1 week and that these payments would continue until they have assessed me without any further hurdles?

Hi H,

There is no facility with ESA for payments for dependants such as children.

Yes, you should receive Assessment Rate ESA of £73.10/Week within a week or so of making your ESA claim.

Payments of Assessment Rate will continue for as long as you supply fit notes, until you are assessed under The ESA WCA.

You could check on either/both of these : Online Benefits Calculators. to give you an idea of your full entitlement to all/any "Benefits"

You could make a start on The ESA50 Questionnaire now in anticipation of receiving the hard copy one through the post by : Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire

Whilst referring to the guides on this page, 2nd & 3rd links down :

ESA Claims Guides

See also :

How long do I have to complete the ESA50?

ESA50 too big for the envelope

&

Sending Documents to the DWP or Maximus. (aka CHDA, aka HAAS.)

You might want to browse through our : ESA FAQ’s as well !

bro58