Esa and SSP

Suze

I would get face to face advice before making a Decision as you have several alternatives, see below, and I can;t say which would be best for you and your husband.

In principle you can claim ESA if you GP is willing to issue a Fit Note, however, I am unclear whether a claim would be accepted if your current income exceeds what you would receive under ESA, certainly in the short term, nothing would be payable as the ESA Assessment rate is the same as the JSA rate, in the longer term it may come into payment dependant on what group you were placed or after your husband's SSP ends (28 weeks). Assessments are currently taking 12 months or more in most areas of the UK.

Your husband can make a claim for ESA once his SSP runs out, actually the claim needs to be a couple of weeks in advance to avoid a break in payments, you would be added to his claim and your JSA closed. Payment would still be dependant on your household income.

As an alternative your husband can claim Income Support as a Carer and you would then join him on his claim, this presumes that there are no queries over his ability to provide 35 hours per week of care while being ill himself. If you think you would only qualify for the WRAG then IS may pay more, if you think you may qualify for the SG then it may be less but you still avoid the issue of assessment. Payment will still be dependant on your household income.

During the first six months Fit Notes cannot be issued for periods longer than three months, after that further Fit Notes can be for longer periods.

Gordon