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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Residence issues  →  Thread

Retaining the status of worker

Anne Higgins
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Welfare rights officer - North Lanarkshire Council

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I have a case of a Polish woman who came to Great Britain in August 2007 and has always worked until May 2015 and went on Maternity leave.  Her husband was working full time with a good wage and never claimed Tax credit.  Her child was born 3/7/14 On 5/5/16 she had to flee domestic violence and was given a local authority home and she was awarded Child benefit and Child tax credits but she has been refused Income Support.  The decision states as she was a Polish National and as such is subject to the accession state worker registration scheme.  Although this ended 30/4/11 any employment carried out during the Accession period must have been registered .  My client never registered but she has every pay slip and P60 since coming to this country.  They have stated she ended worker status as she had claimed IS because she was a lone parent, there was a break between the end of her last job and the claim to IS.  She has also been refused HB and CTB She receives weekly maintenance from her husband Anybody had a similar case.  I thought if I provided proof by way of P60s and payslips this would do but apparently not

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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I was wondering whether she can benefit from the scope of Saint Prix rights but your dates are a bit confused?

Polish woman who came to Great Britain in August 2007 and has always worked until May 2015 and went on Maternity leave.  Her husband was working full time with a good wage and never claimed Tax credit.  Her child was born 3/7/14

She worked until May 2015 and then went on maternity leave for a child that was born in July 2014? One of those dates isn’t correct surely?

Anne Higgins
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Welfare rights officer - North Lanarkshire Council

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Sorry, baby born 3/7/14 but she had maternity pay etc until 17/4/15 then she resigned

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Ah, I see, sorry Anne, that looks like St Prix argument out the window then. If they’re not divorced, shouldn’t she retain a right to reside if he’s still working (p.166 Migrants handbook 8th edition)?

Anne Higgins
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Welfare rights officer - North Lanarkshire Council

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I only have 7th edition but I think you are right

past caring
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Welfare Rights Adviser - Southwark Law Centre, Peckham

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Depending on the outcome of Gubeladze at the CA - and/or the referral to the ECJ in CE/855/2014 (both to do with the lawfulness of the extension of the workers registration scheme beyond 1/5/2009) she might have a permanent right of residence in her own right/via her own employment - but that might take some time.

Paul is right - but she wouldn’t be retaining worker status, she would have a permanent right to reside - 11/5/2011-17/4/2015 as a worker (she will count as a worker whilst receiving MA) and then the remaining 13 months beyond that as the family member of a worker - so long as they were married at the time and the husband was working for the 13 months from 17/4/2015 it wouldn’t matter even if they’d actually divoriced after that 13 months.

Anne Higgins
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Welfare rights officer - North Lanarkshire Council

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This requires solid evidence that her husband is working as an EEA National not sure if we can get that due to domestic violence

past caring
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Was rather than is.

I’m not just hair-splitting. If she knows his NI number and date of birth that is enough to provide to the DWP to ask them to carry out a check of his NI contributions held on its own CIS system - that would be enough to verify/establish that he was a worker during the relevant period.

If the DWP refuses/fails to co-operate and you get to appeal, cite the principles established in Kerr v Department of Social Development to get a direction from the tribunal that it produces the evidence/records.