JSA whilst mandatory reconsideration for ESA?

LW

There are actually two issues here, one simple and the other very complicated, I can answer the first but cannot give definitive advice on the second.

My understanding is that when ESA was first introduced, in at effort to save money, the payment system was piggy backed on to the already existing JSA system, as a result it is not possible to have an active ESA claim and an active JSA claim at the same time, to create a new JSA claim, the ESA claim must be first closed.

The second issue, as I said earlier is far more complicated.

First, to be clear for anybody reading this, it only relates to claimants who have been found Fit for Work, any body challenging a WRAG Decision will continue to receive the WRAG rate during both the Reconsideration and Appeal stages.

There are a number of issues with making a claim for JSA, but these basically fall into two camps, first, is the claimant able to carry out the job seeking commitments necessary to continue to receive JSA, and secondly, by looking for work are they undermining there ESA appeal.

With regard the first point, all I can say is that it is possible to be too fit for ESA and too ill for JSA, whilst claimants can set limits on the type of work they can look for and the hours that they are capable of doing, there are minimum acceptable limits beyond which the DWP will refuse JSA, also, and again these can limited, there are minimum levels of job seeking that the DWP will accept and claimants who are unable to perform these, open themselves up to sanction.

As to the second point, legally, it should be possible to claim JSA with no impact to your ESA appeal, however, it is impossible to say what the practical application will be and whether there will be any knock on effect to subsequent assessments.

Gordon