retaining worker status to be able to claim ESA under Right to Reside

I was wondering if anyone could let me know what trends they are finding at appeal in respect of retaining worker status when there is a gap between work ending and a claim for ESA being made for temporary incapacity for work.

CPAG refers to two conflicting decisions and states that a short gap between work ending and an ESA claim is ok, but a longer gap lapses the worker status (p 1439).

How long a gap are tribunals happy to accept between work and an ESA claim before worker status is lost?

I have a client with a long gap between her work ending and her ESA claim, as she wrongly thought that she could not claim ESA as she was staying with friends. She has failed Right to Reside for ESA.