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ESA and voluntary work.
- NicNac
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4 years 1 week ago #258430 by NicNac
ESA and voluntary work. was created by NicNac
Asking this for a disabled friend who has just confided he has been doing voluntary work for the past Year or so; only about an hour a month and all computer based from home.
He asked if he was supposed to tell the DWP. He’s on support group of ESA as terminally ill. I looked and it looks like he was supposed to tell them in advance. Way too late for that now.
What happens now? Will he get into trouble? He’s on chemotherapy and has been on it for ages, he’s amazing. I can’t believe he would get into trouble for not declaring to the ESA people that he wanted to do one hour a month of volunteer work for no pay. But we’re concerned because the DWP can be rigid sometimes. His claim form says he’d wouldn’t be able to do any physical work again , but he was placed in the support group anyway due to his cancer treatments, which are still ongoing.
He asked if he was supposed to tell the DWP. He’s on support group of ESA as terminally ill. I looked and it looks like he was supposed to tell them in advance. Way too late for that now.
What happens now? Will he get into trouble? He’s on chemotherapy and has been on it for ages, he’s amazing. I can’t believe he would get into trouble for not declaring to the ESA people that he wanted to do one hour a month of volunteer work for no pay. But we’re concerned because the DWP can be rigid sometimes. His claim form says he’d wouldn’t be able to do any physical work again , but he was placed in the support group anyway due to his cancer treatments, which are still ongoing.
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- Catherine
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4 years 1 week ago #258467 by Catherine
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Catherine on topic ESA and voluntary work.
Hello NicNac,
You are correct, even though voluntary work is both permitted and encouraged, if you are receiving ESA you should inform the DWP if you are doing voluntary work.
It would be wrong for me to say that voluntary work of one hour a month is not enough to warrant reporting. The questions the DWP are likely to be asking themselves is is this evidence that your friend could be in paid employment and/or is he doing work for which he could be paid. From what you say the answer to both of those questions is no.
If your friend wishes to do the right thing, he should notify the DWP; however he should make clear the limited extent of this work and (if it is so) that due to his health he cannot commit to doing this at a particular time to suit the person/organisation he is helping out. To be extra cautious I would include a letter from a health worker saying that this is essential to his mental health and is not indicative of an ability to do paid work.
I would be horrified if he were to get into trouble for not reporting what he has been doing and I would personally consider that to be unreasonable. But I am not the DWP.
Sorry not to be able to give a definite ‘no problem’ answer,
Catherine
You are correct, even though voluntary work is both permitted and encouraged, if you are receiving ESA you should inform the DWP if you are doing voluntary work.
It would be wrong for me to say that voluntary work of one hour a month is not enough to warrant reporting. The questions the DWP are likely to be asking themselves is is this evidence that your friend could be in paid employment and/or is he doing work for which he could be paid. From what you say the answer to both of those questions is no.
If your friend wishes to do the right thing, he should notify the DWP; however he should make clear the limited extent of this work and (if it is so) that due to his health he cannot commit to doing this at a particular time to suit the person/organisation he is helping out. To be extra cautious I would include a letter from a health worker saying that this is essential to his mental health and is not indicative of an ability to do paid work.
I would be horrified if he were to get into trouble for not reporting what he has been doing and I would personally consider that to be unreasonable. But I am not the DWP.
Sorry not to be able to give a definite ‘no problem’ answer,
Catherine
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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