HB & EU Nationals

This has probably been addressed before but I still get confused - can someone be good enough to answer and clarify the following with regards EU nationals and HB…..

I) EU national claims Cont Based ESA after working full time in the UK for the last 2-3 years. Claimant was in receipt of HB when working but does he/she still have the right to receive HB whilst sick! What happens when his Cont Based ESA turns to IB ESA…. does he/she only have 3 months worth of IB JSA and with no HB!

ii) same again as above but client claims Cont Based JSA!

iii) EU national comes to the UK this year and starts to work full time. Is the client able to apply for HB at the start of his/her employment or does the same person have to wait a certain period (eg 3 months) before receiving any HB!

Any views would be appreciated.

i) he retains worker status and remains entitled to HB - switch from C-ESA to IR-ESA has no effect other than to automatically mean full HB. HB is not time-limited.

ii) an award of C-JSA ought, in and of itself, to be enough for the LA to determine the claimant retains worker status (unlike IR-JSA, the awarding decision will not say anything about the basis on which it is awarded). Once C-JSA runs out after 6 months, if claimant in receipt of IR-JSA on a basis other than as a jobseeker (i.e. they retain worker status) the entitled to HB. Difficulty is that DWP DMs almost always look only at whether an IR-JSA claimant has a right to reside as a jobseeker in the first instance - and if they do, JSA is awarded on that basis. This means that the ATLAS notice that comes through to the LA will almost certainly state that IR-JSA awarded as a jobseeker - even in circumstances where the claimant retains worker status or has a permanent RtR. You will almost certainly need to explain this to the LA and pressure it into it making its own decision.

GPOW test will apply in any event at 6 months (from JC+ point of view - and for those without permant RtR).

iii) no waiting period. But you may have some argument with the LA about whether work is ‘genuine and effective’ if claimant having to claim HB.

“Once C-JSA runs out after 6 months, if claimant in receipt of IR-JSA on a basis other than as a jobseeker (i.e. they retain worker status) the entitled to HB”

Hi
Can I just clarify something?
I thought you could only have retained worker status (following involuntary unemployment) for 6 months?So if you’ve been receiving c-b JSA for 6 months, I’m not clear how you can move on to I-R JSA still as a retained worker?

I’m probably missing something obvious, sorry.

Can you explain?

Thank you

Yes - I was answering the specific scenario posed in the opening post, where the claimant had worked full-time continuously for 2-3 years prior to the claim - i.e. the automatic six month limit on retention of worker status applies only where someone has worked for less than a year.

For worker claiming HB I wouldn’t have thought too much difficulty about “genuine and effective” (depending on his circs).  As we know many UK national workers are claiming HB and the examples of “genuine and effective” in case law do include many where the earnings are quire small