ESA

[lookingforward]

We've always known our son was special but different and the GP told us before Xmas that he has Aspergers. This has come as a relief to him because he has always known he was different too.

Anyhow, he's a full time student but for reasons we now know can't get himself a part time job so only has any money we can give him which is quite frankly not a lot.

Been told by a very knowledgeable friend that he can claim ESA whilst a student by getting a sick note however looking here http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/money...SA-claims.aspx it's all very confusing and talks of back dated sick notes etc etc. He's only ever been in education so has paid nothing in the way of NI so hoping someone who has claimed for similar we be able to advise what to do.

Thx

[Pixie]

Re: ESA

It seems highly unlikely that he will be able to claim ESA as he is a full time student. It may be worth going to CAB or Welfare Rights. I think a lot may depend on the type of educational establishment he attends.

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

Hi Pixie,

Thank you, that's what I was thinking.

[di30]

Re: ESA

I am about to post a thread about this too in regards of my son turning 20 next week who has aspergers syndrome and anxiety disorders. x

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

Sorry Di, have only just seen this.
We're still waiting for his next appt. He's had 2 so far for chats, apparently it's not called Aspergers any more but autistic spectrum dissorder.

I'll have a look out for your thread

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

Son has got himself a part time job (2 days a week) as permitted work in a local shop and is claiming ESA @ around £100 p/w. He has never paid NI so it must be the income related version. He had to go to the job center for an interview and they have passed him on to a company to do the work related activity group. He's still going through assessment for his condition which we are told can take up to 2 years.

We went with him to the first meeting but the lady wanted him to come on his own from then. He's been twice now, in the first they were looking at his CV, this week they have been looking at job options. Next week he's got to go to an "embracing change/benefits of work" workshop on Tues and Thursday to his normal weekly meeting. He showed us a job that he's been asked to look at which is an apprenticeship @ £82.00 p/w for 5 days a week 10.00am > 4.30 pm.

He's getting stressed out over this already and we want him to get a good job if possible but that seems terrible money bearing in mind he'll have around £25.00 pw in bus fares to come off that as well. Quite frankly that money is rubbish, he gets almost that working 2 days a week in the local shop !! What is worrying though is that when we tried to discuss it with him he got agitated and said things like "so you want me to live my life on the dole do you ?" , and "my advisor said I can only claim ESA for 1 year" ..... now we have NEVER used the word dole and have certainly never said we want him to live his life on benefits, so where's he getting that from and also te ESA he's on is not time limited according to the CAB

If you are put in the work-related activity group, you can only get contributory ESA for up to 365 days. If you are put in the support group, your contributory ESA is not time limited in this way. Income-related ESA is not time limited for either group.

I can imagine his advisor must have a brief to get as many people back to work as possible which is fine, but we are worried that she is herding him into something that will make him worse off than he is now by giving him dodgy information. I don't want him to live his life on benefits but the fact is he struggles because of his condition and if that means he is looked after by getting the ESA at £100 p/w then I'd rather he got that than a nett of £60.00 a week working all week. We are not going to be here to look after him forever and want to make sure he's making the correct decisions now.

Does anyone else think he's just being moved along ASAP to get him off the ESA and if that's the case can we intervene without getting the back up of the training company who I assume could get his benefits stopped if they aren't happy he's doing what they ask ?

I fear I've not explained this very well so if you need more info please ask away.

[Pixie]

Re: ESA

I'm happy to have been proved wrong when I said that I thought it was unlikely that your son would get ESA lookingforward.I think you're right when you say that his advisor probably has a brief to get as many people as possible off ESA. I'm not sure just how things work but it seems ridiculous for them to put your son through this stress and for less money. It might be an idea to PM pompeyfaith as he is very knowledgeable when it comes to disability and benefits.

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

Thanks Pixie, you weren't wrong, he only got te ESA once he left college.

I'll drop a pm now

Thx

[pompeyfaith]

Re: ESA

Got your message Thank You

Firstly we have to be certain exactly what ESA he is getting as it makes a big difference to outcomes, so we know it is Income Related (IR) but which group of ESA (IR) is he in, is it Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) or Support Group (SG)

The reason this firstly has to be confirmed is because under SG he is under NO OBLIGATION to undertake any work programs with any and all work providers he is also under NO OBLIGATION to visit Job Centre Plus for interviews and such indeed it is voluntary on his part and will not be sanctioned.

If he is in WRAG then yes but even then they have to pay due attention to his limitations and in most cases they will not do this as those advisor's are under pressure themselves to meet targets which the DWP say there are no targets which is baloney and already been debunked.

How long has he been getting ESA for because I really think he should be in support group if he is not

BTW they will want him to go alone to these meetings so they can harass and verbally bully him without fear of someone who can stand up to them being there I strongly suggest that he is never aloud to go to JobCentre Plus on his own as he does not have the capability to understand and fightback.

A very good blog worth reading on the antics of JC+ is one by Kate Belgrave who does a lot to support this group of people and accompany them to JC+

http://www.katebelgrave.com/

I hope this is a good start to helping you but if you have any more questions which I expect you will have just post here and ill be along as soon as

Regards

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

Hi PF,

Thanks for your reply.

He's in the work related group I'm pretty sure but I will have to dig out all the papaerwork to check. I'll also get back to you with how long he's been claiming as it was back dated.

The JC man seemed ok but it's the training company that are putting the pressure on and I'd say they are on some sort of bonus scheme.

Next week he's got 2 workshops
"Embracing change/benefits of work" - then a meeting with his contact there
2 days later "Psychometric online"

That was arranged on his last meeting last week along with this Apprenticeship for £82.00 p/w for 5 days a week 10.00am > 4.30 pm. Oh and the apprenticeship is for 18 months may need some Saturday work. The blurb states depending on the right candidate then there will be many available opportunities within the Company. My maths make that 6.5 hours per day x 5 = 32.5 hours so £2.52 per hour for a soon to be 22 year old !!

As I stated before neither he nor us have any problems with him working but that particular job's pay is rubbish for the hours involved and as I said he's got transport to come out of that as well.

Thx for the link as well I'll have a read

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

I've found the ESA details which state they commenced 28.7.14. like I said before it was back dated to this date in September. He had to have a medical interview and then we got a call asking some questions and apparently they were going to stop the ESA but after this call actually increased the amount from £57.35 to £100 odd p/w (sorry don't know they exact amount) He had another interview with JC+ who discussed work and who were supposed to call back a couple of times to talk on phone but haven't (we called to make sure we'd not missed their call but they hadn't made it).

We've had letters re a "work focused interview" etc but nothing to state what group he's in yet all the paperwork he's getting from Ingeus who are the training company are focused on getting him a job

Our son's condition is very hard to describe. The NHS side of things has only got as far as 2 chats where the lady didn't think he had aspergers but that assessement is ongoing. If it's not that then it's something else. He finds it very hard to converse with people and will throw in one liners into conversation that are rehearsed but most of the time don't make any sense to the conversation. It's very hard to get him to understand what you are trying to say He is very OCD with hand washing, very OCD. Because of this he has no friends to speak of, therefore rarely goes out. He was bullied through both schools we only found out since he left, schools never mentioned it. I think we are guilty of burying our heads in the sand because no parent likes to admit somethings wrong with their child, but now we have we want to make sure he's getting the correct help.

He probably comes across OK at the training company because any stresses etc will only come out when he's back at home once it's built up.

At this stage I need to know whether he has to go for the apprenticeship job if possible please.

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

He is definately in the WRAG as I've dug out the letter. After being given the original rate ESA he went for the original medical assesment with us and he was asked lots of questions that were logged onto a computer. He then got a follow up call which was taken by his Mum that was going towards the ESA not being awarded until the person asked about his OCD, After that he was put onto a higher rate and into the WRAG, the letter also clearly states that he has not paid enough NI contributions, so I take that to mean he's on the income based one.

This as I understand it has no time limit yet the advisor at the training group has told him it runs for only 12 months !! The letter also states they are paying him what the Gov says he needs to live on, yet the advisor is giving him jobs at a lesser rate.

It says he must attend all interviews and training to keep qualifying for ESA but nothing about job interviews so I'm confused

[Pixie]

Re: ESA

From what I know of ESA the claimant is put on the assessment rate (up to £57.35 for under 25s and £72.40 for over 25s) supposedly for 13 weeks or until the work capability assessment is carried out.

As your son hasn't paid any NI contributions he'll be in the income-related group which doesn't have a time limit so the adviser is definitely wrong there.

All DWP benefits letters say that that is the amount you need to live on, regardless of what the benefit is or the amount.

Re the interviews, the government website for ESA just says

Work-related activity group

You must go to regular interviews with an adviser who can help with things like job goals and improving your skills.

[pompeyfaith]

Re: ESA

This as I understand it has no time limit yet the advisor at the training group has told him it runs for only 12 months !! The letter also states they are paying him what the Gov says he needs to live on, yet the advisor is giving him jobs at a lesser rate.

Yes as Pixie says there is no time limiting to Income Related ESA so will not be stopped 365 days from date of award, however due to him being placed in the WRAG he will be in a merry-go-round as far as work providers are concerned and they will care not for your sons well being I am afraid as all they are interested in is getting him on as many useless courses etc as possible to keep there money coming in from DWP.

Really you should have request a mandatory reconsideration and appeal as it is clear what he is doing with work providers will be of little use to him.

You maybe able to seek a supersession and/or revision of his claim ill read up some more on that for you with your son in mind to see if it will be to your worthwhile.

Regards

[lookingforward]

Re: ESA

Thank you both.

Son actually enjoyed the training meeting on Tuesday and says it made a lot of sense to him. He says they said several times that they were different to other training groups in that they try to listen to the people and help them, we shall see, they did say he doesn't have to go for the apprentice job, it is only a suggestion so that's good so far.

I don't want to pull him out of something that he's enjoying as it's getting him out of the house and interacting with other people and hopefully building his confidence so will keep a close eye and keep you informed.

Thx as always