# Switching from Job Seekers allowance to sickness benefit?



## Sparxxx (Mar 10, 2010)

I'll try and keep this short and not ramble 

Basically i'm on a anti psycotic aswell as anti depressant, been on them for about 3 months now....I'm looking into getting put on sickness benefit whilst i get my head sorted out...

*Having never claimed sickness benefit is it easy to get swap over from JSA?*  I already spoke to the doctor i spoke to about all of whats been going on and he has wrote to my GP about me getting signed off...

I'm just worried about how much hassle this is going to be to be honest.....I live alone and don't really want it messing up my housing benefit also

Any help is appreciated.


----------



## geminisnake (Mar 10, 2010)

I don't see why it should prove to be a problem but how good are your local job centre? IIRC your benefit rate wouldn't be changing(unless you're signed off for over a year) so it shouldn't muck up your housing benefit, and even if your rate does change you'd still be on benefits which again shouldn't affect the housing side of it, unless you go onto Incapacity.

Are you on income or contributions based JSA?


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Mar 10, 2010)

You would need to claim something called Employment and Support Allowance

You would need a medical certificate from your GP to make the claim, and you will then be expeted to have a medical assessment to see if you can stay on the benefit - for the first 13 weeks, it pays the same as JSA, and then if you are still entitled, it rises by ~£25p/w. Even on this benefit, you will still be expected to undertake some kind of work-related activity and attend regular work focussed interviews, although less frequently than when signing on for JSA.

It _shouldn't_ have a detrimental impact on your housing benefit but anyone knows that changes to one benefit can sometimes lead to mistakes being made with others, so you would be well advised to notify the local authority as soon as you make any change to your claims. 

If you did claim ESA and they decided that you weren't entitled, then you could simply move back to claiming JSA instead. Good luck


----------



## fernhill heath (Mar 19, 2010)

first you will have to claim e.s.a as long as you have i sick note. the money stays the same for the first year but at least you wont have to have the hassle on signing on every 2 weeks. then after about 6 months they will ask you to go to assesment where they ask you various questions about your capability to work both pyshical and mental. 
you have to score at least 15 points for them to pay you full sickness benifit £90a week.  if you dont score enough points like i didnt then you can appeal, during the appeal process you will still get e.s.a providing you get a sicknote from your doctor. 

they told me i wasnt eligable for full sickness benifit but this was back in november and i am still waiting to hear about my appeal  and if this fails i can appeal again.

i have been on e.s.a for almost a year and had no shit from them as long as you show a sicknote, i have 1 till june.
it wont affect your housing benifit, you may have to fill in a few forms but you will basicaly get the same housing benifit.

dont worry its easier than you think and you will be spared the hassle of signing on and the job search dairy nonsense. its ace


----------



## punchdrunkme (Mar 21, 2010)

Just get a sick note and hand it in to the job centre where your claim is. They will change your claim over for you. Then read up about ESA. The rules for being able to continue claiming it are a bit tricky. They do a lot of assesments but the first step is just to hand a sick note in and then they will take it from there.


----------



## Dorothyboylin (Mar 21, 2016)

If I have been sanctioned by my job center due to my mental health and not being able to remember dates and times I have been given sick notes from my GO I am being told by the job center that I cannot change my claim to sickness benefis is the true


----------



## ViolentPanda (Mar 21, 2016)

Dorothyboylin said:


> If I have been sanctioned by my job center due to my mental health and not being able to remember dates and times I have been given sick notes from my GO I am being told by the job center that I cannot change my claim to sickness benefis is the true



No, it's not true. You can apply for ESA regardless of what the Job Centre says. You need to contact your local welfare rights people, or Citizens' Advice Bureau or branch of MIND, who'll be able to give you the low-down, and help you complete the forms.


----------



## crossthebreeze (Mar 21, 2016)

Dorothyboylin said:


> If I have been sanctioned by my job center due to my mental health and not being able to remember dates and times I have been given sick notes from my GO I am being told by the job center that I cannot change my claim to sickness benefis is the true


According to CPAG (who publish one of the books that most advice centres use) you might be able to claim ESA even if you are on a sanction from JSA.  They say:

You may be able to claim another benefit during a sanction. For example:

if your jobseeker's allowance (JSA) has been sanctioned, you may be eligible to claim employment and support allowance (ESA) or income support (IS) if you satisfy the normal conditions of entitlement;
if your ESA has been sanctioned, you may be eligible to claim IS or JSA if you satisfy the normal conditions of entitlement.
It may also be possible for your partner to claim income-based JSA, income-related ESA, income support or pension credit for you both, if s/he satisfies the normal conditions of entitlement.​
If you've been on Universal credit not JSA, things are almost certainly more difficult. Whether its JSA or Universal Credit that's been sanctioned, your best bet is to take your sanction letter and your sick notes to a citizens advice centre or a welfare rights adviser or somewhere similar and get them to advise you on ESA and how to apply for it.  They may also help you appeal the sanction and apply for a hardship payment.  If you have been on JSA, and also claiming Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit, check that the council is still paying it: if they've stopped it, you'll need to make a new application for HB and CTB.


----------



## Dorothyboylin (Mar 22, 2016)

Thankyou so much for your comments they have been most helpful I have managed to get him an appointment at the job center today after 2 days of phoning and trying to get one ,I will let you know the outcome,as it may help others in the same situation


----------



## Dorothyboylin (Mar 22, 2016)

Went to the appointment with my sun the person we were told to see didn't even work there we were greeted by the receptionist,( what are you here for) not good afternoon can I help you then we were told to sit and wait which we did,our appointment was at 4 20pm when 4,40 and we still hasn't been seen so asked somebody else about the appointment a few minutes later a women I sorry but I cannot call her a lady appeared and called my son's name when I stood up with him I was told not you as you wouldn't go to a job interview with him so you can't come in here with him,so all I can say is I did go with him whether she liked it or not still no help what so ever these people are a disgrace and the person who put the comment on about Longside job center must work there I have never met so many ignorant people in all my life


----------



## Dorothyboylin (Mar 24, 2016)

crossthebreeze said:


> According to CPAG (who publish one of the books that most advice centres use) you might be able to claim ESA even if you are on a sanction from JSA.  They say:
> 
> You may be able to claim another benefit during a sanction. For example:
> 
> ...


----------

