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Benefit pending ESA MR
Client has failed WCA and JC have advised her to claim JSA. We have submitted an MR on her ESA claim. She is still providing sick notes and has a job to return to when she’s well enough. Surely she will not be considered eligible for JSA as she is not available to take other work even under an extended period for sickness. If she isn’t entitled to JSA she will have no money coming in at all until ESA is either superseded or it goes to appeal. Am I missing something here?
She is still providing sick notes and has a job to return to when she’s well enough. Surely she will not be considered eligible for JSA as she is not available to take other work even under an extended period for sickness.
I think that the argument may be that even if she is unable to do her existing job that does not mean that she is truly incapable of any work at all. To give a crude example, if her current job was a bricklayer it is understandable that illness may prevent her from returning to that but that does not mean that she would not necessarily be able to work at a desk job in the mythical modern workplace where all employers are infinitely flexible, unhesitatingly comply with the Equalities Act and bend over backwards to make any manner of reasonable adjustments to accommodate disability.
The DWP is always referring to this rubbish to deny people ESA, I see no reason why the argument could not be turned back on them to establish her right to claim JSA. Worth a go and once she has got her JSA claim established she can hopefully go on extended sickness, ride out the MR period and go back on to ESA pending appeal.