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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Work capability issues and ESA  →  Thread

ESA overpayment what is ‘full-time’ work?

Advisor for Adults with sensory loss
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Q-Care - Sensory Support Team Gloucester

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Deaf woman in receipt of IRESA living with partner. Partner starts work June 2015 22 hrs per week. Letter from DWP in Nov 2015 stating overpayment of ESA as circumstances have changed and DWP not informed at the correct time ie not until Nov when new sick note sent in. That bit I agree with but they state that the partner is in full-time work.
2 questions - is 22 hrs classed as fulltime work and can I make a late submission for a MR? (I was only shown this letter this week!!)
Oh and they’ve just had a baby and we’re in the process of applying for child benefit and tax credits!!

any thoughts. hints, tips, welcome
thks

Elliot Kent
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Shelter

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Reg 42(1) ESA Regulations 2008-

‘[for the purposes of determining if a claimant’s partner is in ‘remunerative wor’k and therefore the claimant is not entitled to ESA] “remunerative work” means work in which the claimant’s partner is engaged or, where the partner’s hours of work fluctuate, the partner is engaged on average, for not less than 24 hours a week, being work for which payment is made or which is done in expectation of payment.’

So no, 22 hours per week should not qualify, unless your client’s partner works an average of 24 hours per week then this is not a reason to stop benefit. It’s possible that he was contracted for 22 but did overtime or something like that which put him over the limit after averaging out. I would want to double check the figures before making any assertions.

A late MR is still possible but down to the discretion of the decision maker. I would suggest that it would be unreasonable to refuse a request which is late but which is founded on a technical mistake which the client couldn’t realistically have worked out themselves.

Edmund Shepherd
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Tenancy Income, Royal Borough of Greenwich, London

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Would the decision that he wasn’t in full time work change anything, if his income will still be deducted from irESA entitlement?

1964
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Deputy Manager, Reading Community Welfare Rights Unit

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Exactly what I was thinking. Unless DWP has made a decision that partner was in work of 24+ hours pw (so no ESA entitlement at all) it won’t make any difference.

Advisor for Adults with sensory loss
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Q-Care - Sensory Support Team Gloucester

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I’m also thinking that as a couple they are now applying for child benefit and tax credits so not to get ‘hung up’ on the ESA.

benefitsadviser
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Sunderland West Advice Project

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The old “hours” chestnut rears its head again.

The amount of clients who tell me “you definitely are entitled to jobseekers as you only work 10 hours” while being paid £15 a hour, thus exceeding applicable amount…...