ESA cont claim and JSA IB claim

I have a client who has been included in his partner’s JSA Income Based claim and they have both been signing.

He has now become unwell and has been advised to claim ESA, because we are now in a new benefit year they are obviously using different RITYs and he has now become entitled to ESA Cont.

I thought partner would be able to continue with the JSA claim as a couple and JSA would take his £67.50 into account as income as they would still only have one income based claim between them. DWP have advised him his claim now takes priority, his partner has to withdraw her claim so he becomes claimant for both of them and he needs to make an ESA Income related claim.

Can anyone let me know if this is correct, think I have worked on basis if he had been claiming Incapacity this is cont only and would be treated as income against her means tested claim, so don’t really understand why same rule doesn’t apply to ESA contributory only payment?

Thanks for that, thought I had completely missed something!

Also, if the partner closes their JSA claim they will cease to receive NI credits, which may be needed to qualify for a full pension and/or other benefits in the future.

Isn’t the issue here that if the client who could claim irESA doesn’t, they would not get a component included in their applicable amount after 13 weeks? The jobseeking partner could continue to sign on for NI credits if the eligible partner claimed irESA.

Of course, there is nothing to stop them from staying on ibJSA now, and then switching the claim to irESA after 13 weeks.

If the client with health problems could qualify for DLA, an award of DLA (or if registered blind, but sounds unlikely from the post) would mean they would be better off on ibJSA than irESA (disability premium at couple rate payable); UNLESS they were in the support group (cESA) but the client on DLA didn’t get highest rate care (as then the EDP would only be payable in irESA).

The last question is are they a joint claim JSA couple? (It sounds like they might be from the original post.) If so, then after 364 days of LCW they will become entitled to a disability premium in joint claim JSA (Sch.1 para 20H(1)(ee) JSA Regs). Note that this rule only applies to joint claim couples, not to other ibJSA claims.

So, assuming now that the cESA claimant is in the WRAG and doesn’t qualify for DLA, they are better off on irESA after 13 weeks, but after a year (6 months if terminally ill), they should switch back to ibJSA, as the applicable amount will be higher.

This should stil apply even if the Commons reverse the Lords amendment on time-limiting CESA, as that won’t mean that the client no longer has LCW (although good luck trying to convince a BDC of this. DMG para 23123 may help, if it hasn’t changed by then.)

Don’t you just love benefit simplification?

Why wouldn’t the ESA client not receive the WRAC after 13 weeks if he remains on his partner’s JSA claim? I’m sure I’m missing something obvious but I can’t see it.

Sorry, I could have made that clearer.

They would receive a component in cESA, but the applicable amount for ibJSA would not increase as there is no component payable in ibJSA.

Therefore the JSA applicable amount would stay at £105.95 (assuming that they are both over 18, £111.45 from April), with a greater proportion of that amount being cESA entitlement, but no increase in the household income. Of course if they have other sources of income it gets more complicated…

Jon

Of course! Whereas on IR ESA (WRAC in payment) they would recieve £38.45 pw rather than £11.70 pw on JSA. I should have thought of that. Thanks for clarifying.