Straight from ESA (SG) to JSA

Elston wrote: Thanks for your reply. It does seem very unfair for his voluntary work to count against him and I simply can't understand how people manage to actually do permitted work whilst still receiving their benefit. You would think that voluntary work would be seen as the 'softer' option, given the flexibility of hours and relative freedom from the pressure that paid work often brings.

We always warn members to think very carefully about voluntary or permitted work because of the negative assumptions that will be made as a result, My personal opinion is that it is makes sense if it is being done as an intermediate stage to returning to work i.e. do PW for 6-12 months and then close your claim. But if there is no definite aim to come off benefits then I'm not sure that it is worth the risk.

Gordon