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Esa eligibility
- Sweetpie
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4 years 11 months ago #248294 by Sweetpie
Esa eligibility was created by Sweetpie
Hello,
I am trying to find out whether I qualify for Contributions Based ESA and how to apply. My current inability to work is entirely due to being in the very highest at-risk group for Covid-19 (I have a serious autoimmune disease) and the questions I see in online forms (such as “can you life a cup”) are not relevant to me at all.
More information: My husband and I share a self-employed business. He works one-to-one as a sports masseur and I manage his business, including welcoming clients, making bookings, etc. Neither of us can work at the moment because his work is not allowed with the lockdown, so I can’t work either. Even if the lockdown is lifted, he may not be able to work as I am required to shield from any risk of infection and we share both our house and workspace.
So really I have four questions:
Am I entitled to ESA?
Is my husband entitled to ESA because he cannot work because his work is not permitted at the moment?
Is my husband entitled to ESA when is work is permitted, because he cannot work because he lives with me and I am in the extremely vulnerable group?
Are there forms that we can fill in that are relevant to not being able to work because of Covid-19?
Thank you,
Susan
I am trying to find out whether I qualify for Contributions Based ESA and how to apply. My current inability to work is entirely due to being in the very highest at-risk group for Covid-19 (I have a serious autoimmune disease) and the questions I see in online forms (such as “can you life a cup”) are not relevant to me at all.
More information: My husband and I share a self-employed business. He works one-to-one as a sports masseur and I manage his business, including welcoming clients, making bookings, etc. Neither of us can work at the moment because his work is not allowed with the lockdown, so I can’t work either. Even if the lockdown is lifted, he may not be able to work as I am required to shield from any risk of infection and we share both our house and workspace.
So really I have four questions:
Am I entitled to ESA?
Is my husband entitled to ESA because he cannot work because his work is not permitted at the moment?
Is my husband entitled to ESA when is work is permitted, because he cannot work because he lives with me and I am in the extremely vulnerable group?
Are there forms that we can fill in that are relevant to not being able to work because of Covid-19?
Thank you,
Susan
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- Gordon
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4 years 11 months ago #248296 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Esa eligibility
S
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
In case you are not aware, your real name appears to be showing in the forum, if you want to change this then follow the instructions in the following FAQ
My full name is showing, how can I stop it?
There are two issues you will need to overcome, are you eligible to claim ESA and if you are then are you entitled to an award.
To be eligible for New Style ESA you will need to have a minimum of 50 weeks of NI Contributions in both of the Tax Years 2017-18 and 2018-19. As a self-employed person this will require you to have purchased Class 2 NICs for these Tax Years.
If you are eligible to make a claim then you will need to show that you are entitled to an award, ESA has specific criteria that you will need to meet, our ESA Claim guide explains what these are.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
There are exemptions in the current situation but these involve the claimant having the virus or believing that they do. I do not believe that you or your husband will qualify as self-isolators.
You can claim, as a couple, Universal Credit but before doing so I would put your information into one of the online benefit calculators.
www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
Gordon
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
In case you are not aware, your real name appears to be showing in the forum, if you want to change this then follow the instructions in the following FAQ
My full name is showing, how can I stop it?
There are two issues you will need to overcome, are you eligible to claim ESA and if you are then are you entitled to an award.
To be eligible for New Style ESA you will need to have a minimum of 50 weeks of NI Contributions in both of the Tax Years 2017-18 and 2018-19. As a self-employed person this will require you to have purchased Class 2 NICs for these Tax Years.
If you are eligible to make a claim then you will need to show that you are entitled to an award, ESA has specific criteria that you will need to meet, our ESA Claim guide explains what these are.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
There are exemptions in the current situation but these involve the claimant having the virus or believing that they do. I do not believe that you or your husband will qualify as self-isolators.
You can claim, as a couple, Universal Credit but before doing so I would put your information into one of the online benefit calculators.
www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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