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Resigning from a job:- Is there any penalty possible under E.S.A.?.
I have a case where one of our patients last worked about 5 weeks ago. He is on S.S.P., with I.S. and D.L.A. now being claimed too. He is terminally ill, recently diagnosed, hence his incapacity for work. His employer is in fact one of his friends. He has asked me if he can resign his position, thereby freeing up his job for someone else to take. From a Social Security law perspective, I can not think of any snags were he to do this, as he clearly has more than good reason for such a resignation, and as it is Employment and Support Allowance as opposed to Jobseeker’s Allowance. Does anyone know of any problems this gentleman may face if he were to do this?.
Job related sanctions only apply to JSA, so no problems leaving work for ESA.
He should also be put into the Support group of ESA if he is terminally ill and his passing can be reasonably expected in the next 6 months. (Reg 35 and all that)
Thanks everyone, you all confirmed my thoughts on this too. Yes, the D.L.A. is under the Special Rules, and I will get him on I.R. E.S.A. in the Support Group once he comes off S.S.P. Cheers all for your thoughts on this.
If he’s only getting SSP the IRESA amount may be higher and he should claim ASAP and seek a backdated award if you can show that your correspondence had discouraged an earlier claim see reg 19(5)(e) Social Security (Claims & Payments) regs… or indeed if any of the other backdating rules apply.
However…
You say above that he’s getting Income Support; are you sure? If so why? Lone parent? Carer in the household who’s the claimant? SSp indicates max 28 weeks since he left work; he couldn’t have claimed Income Support on grounds of Incapacity for Work.
Depending on whether there’s a partner in the house you might just want to maximise the IS award rather than faff about claiming IRESA; the couple rate disability premium will mean a higher IS award than IRESA would be.
Those getting SSP are still a category of person entitled to IS, and so barred from ESA (aren’t they? CPAG p311). So, he would have to end the employment in order to immediately fall under ESA.
A possible non-benefits snag for the claimant: any payment protection insurance claims may have different outcomes following a resignation, than from a capability dismissal, say.