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ESA Self Selectors
Here’s an interesting diversion for me… Can an existing IS claimant self select to get onto ESA?
We’ve stumbled across a client who is still on IS and it would be hugely to their, and our, advantage if we could shunt them onto ESA before they get better and disengage from services again. A new claim can’t be considered while IS is in payment unless it’s converted.
I’ve read the commentary in 11-12 CPAG and I fear the answer is “no” but I thought I’d throw it out there.
The alternative is likely to be picking them up out of hospital again when DWP do finally convert them, miss the relapse risk and find them fit for work.
Can’t see anything here.
Strangely a similar situation came up for me yesterday. Spoke to a gentleman who stated that he had been on Income Support and has then claimed ESA because he thought he would get more money and because a friend had moved onto it and he thought that he had to do the same.
A crucial difference to your question is that DWP do not appear to have treated this as a self selecting migration but instead as a bog standard new claim for ESA. As far as I can tell DWP did not mention anything to client about the possibility of staying on IS until migration. He is now stuck on assessment rate ESA in the massive queue waiting for ATOS to assess him. Even once assessed it appears that he’ll miss out on 13 weeks of WRAG component if he’d been migrated ‘naturally’/Disability Premium if he’d stayed on IS. Was only an initial referral and I haven’t looked further into it but at present the two questions I’d have would be:
a) as you ask - should the DWP even have accepted a new claim for ESA when client already had a live IS claim?
b) if it is possible to make a new claim, should transitional protection/linking rules protect the client from going down to assessment rate?
As above haven’t looked any further into this, will update if I find out anything interesting.
I don’t think someone can claim ESA when they are already on IS. If someone wanted to do it, I think they’d have to withdraw their IS claim first. Someone else may have more specific experience of this.
Section1(3)(e) Welfare Reform Act 2007.