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EEA RTR
Latvian national working here 5 weeks before being admitted to psychiatric hospital for 2 months. Social worker wants to know if, on release, she would get ESA and housing benefit.
My thoughts were that she would be exempt from the HRT as a worker with retained status while temporarily unable to work and so she could claim ESA.
For HB, she has been here 3 months and retains her worker status as she is temporarily ill.
If she has no job to go back to, perhaps she is a jobseeker though?
Reading ths, it looks like she can claim ESA so long as she intends to return to work:
An EEA national claiming benefits in the UK would continue to be considered a qualified person if they were:
A worker in receipt of top-up funds or tax credits for low income OR
An EEA national working in the UK who has become temporarily unemployed (due to incapacity or involuntary unemployment) and is claiming public funds. A worker would still be considered temporarily incapacitated for as long as a doctor confirms that they cannot work but have the intention to do so. We would expect this to be for no longer than six months, although there may be cases where this could be extended (for example if we believe the EEA national has a reasonable prospect of returning to work or finding a job).
Any thoughts?
[ Edited: 24 Jul 2015 at 11:28 am by unhindered by talent ]If she has no job to go back to, perhaps she is a jobseeker though?
Reading ths, it looks like she can claim ESA so long as she intends to return to work:
She is not a jobseeker, she is a worker in a temporary period of incapacity (meaning that the incapacity is not permanent) and therefore she retains worker status. If she gets IR ESA as a result, she is not a person from abroad and there is no HRT. She should therefore be passported through for HB.
From HB/A6 2014:
EEA nationals exercising their treaty rights to live and work in the UK have a right to reside and are exempt from the Habitual Residence Test (HRT) due to HB Regulation 10(3B)(a) to (c) and have full access to HB if they are workers, self-employed, or retain their worker or self-employed status.
Thanks so much, Billly.