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

ESA and voluntary work

benefitsadviser
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Sunderland West Advice Project

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Quickie for friday morning.

I have a client with MH problems, but he wants to do a few hours a week voluntary work, which is unpaid.

He wants to do this for theraputic reasons : wants to re-engage with people at his own pace

He is in WRAG.

Does he have to report this to JC+ ?? He is scared they will stop his ESA or make him go for another WCA if he has to tell them.

Cant find anything relating to ESA and voluntary work.

Thanks

Paul_Treloar_CPAG
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Advice and Rights Team, Child Poverty Action Group

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As a rule of thumb, I think one should usually advise a client that they should disclose undertaking voluntary work, on the basis that the rules are quite clear that becoming a volunteer, or working for a charity or voluntary organisation, clearly doesn’t count as remunerative work for IS, JSA and ESA (see p.995 WBH 2014/15).

Primary reason for this is to avoid allegations of fraud subsequently as this is, in my opinion, a question of fact and clearly potentially an issue that affects entitlement to those benefits. One would also advise that for the reasons above, this shouldn’t have any demonstrable impact on continuing to receive those benefits.

However, then I came across this from Wiltshire Law Centre yesterday whereby the DWP have taken a decision that a volunteer isn’t actually a volunteer and threatened to stop his benefit if he doesn’t stop volunteering. So I’m not sure that you can offer your client reassurance, given the vagaries and inconsistencies of current decision making within DWP.

Andrew Dutton
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Can’t see any problem with voluntary work as long as it’s unpaid, expenses-only, otherwise it would fall under the Permitted Work rules.

I don’t think there is an obligation to report to DWP but for the avoidance of misunderstandings (or malicious tongue-waggers) it’s probably best, and after all it’s a work-related activity, trying to get closer to the work-place, which is the whole point of the WRAG.

CPAG p 1019

Andrew Dutton
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Paul, that’s just….arrrrrgggg…..‘vagaries and inconsistencies of current decision making within DWP’.

Indeed.

Paul_Treloar_CPAG
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Yes indeed Andrew, teeth clenchingly frustrating decision making. The amount of petty minded, ill-thought through decisions that we’re currently hearing about are increasing, one cannot help but suspect that there are instructions being given to penalise claimants by whatever means necessary and regardless of the circumstances or evidence available to them.

Sophia2013
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Redbridge Citizens Advice

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As long as the wotk is carried out in a charity or voluntary organisation, there should not be any problem.

John Birks
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AO grades are now decision makers – I had this confirmed this morning in response to my question on who is making a decision on a valuation of interest in a property rather than a freehold interest.
Without wishing to denigrate any hard working civil servants; Peanuts = monkeys.


https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/civilserviceadministrativeofficer.aspx

Peter Turville
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This is not a new issue. Some years ago we were involved in a spate of cases where adults with learnings disabilities receiving IB/SDA and IS had been found voluntary work placements when the day centre’s they had previously attended were closed down (cuts).

However most of those placements were with large’ high street’ commercial companies undertaking menial tasks like sweeping up. These clients had been undertaking these placements for many years by the time DWP ‘discovered’ the claimant’s ‘work’. By that time there were no records available regarding how the placements had original been set up and management at the providers were not those in post when the placements had started and really had no idea why they had these volunteers with them.

Given these ‘placements’ were at large commercial providers and there were no records available it was not surprising DWP would not accept the claimant’s were volunteers, but rather were doing work for which they should be paid.

We did manage to pursuade DWP in the end that the claimant’s had been volunteers (and therefore there had been no overpayments) but unsurprisingly they would not accept that situation going forward and the claimant’s were left to negotiate ‘converting’ the placements to paid work or giving them up.

We were of course keen to apply the humane killer to whoever had originally set up these placements.

The moral of this tale - undertaking voluntary work in a ‘commercial establishment’ may not be so staright forward! I wonder in the Witshire case if DWP’s view would have been the same if the care home had been run be a charity of similar?

1964
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Yes, we had a similar issue around the same time. I particularly recall representing a young man with a learning difficulty who had volunteered for many years at a high-street shoe shop.

In relation to the OP I agree with Andrew- whilst there is no specific duty to disclose, reporting the work (preferably with something to back up the therapeutic nature of it from someone involved in client’s ongoing care) gets around any potential issues arising later.

Dan_Manville
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Paul_Treloar_CPAG - 16 January 2015 10:01 AM

one cannot help but suspect that there are instructions being given to penalise claimants by whatever means necessary and regardless of the circumstances or evidence available to them.

I have believed this to be the case for some time now.

kelly.jones
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Wiltshire Law Centre

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I came across this thread in my search for case law in this area, which is yet to yield results!  I’m the rep that will be taking the Wilts Law case forward to Tribunal.

It’s clear from the regs that unpaid work is exempt where it is:
- for a charity/voluntary organisation, or
- carried out by a volunteer
AND
- it is reasonable for claimant to provide the service free of charge
ESA Regs 2008 reg 45(6)

I’ll be arguing that it is entirely reasonable for my client to carry out the work free of charge, which appears to be the sticking point for the DWP.

Please do post relevant cases here as I’m struggling to find any precedents at all.  I will of course update you on the outcome of the hearing (yet to be listed).