Stopping ESA - effect on UC

Hi there,

I have been receiving cbESA as well as UC since migration. I started a Ltd company earlier this year and told ESA that from 6 April I would be working more than 16 hours per week. I also notified UC about the Ltd company and told them it won't affect my earnings as I'm not taking salary or dividends.

I understand I shouldn't lose £ as my ESA was being deducted from UC. I was waiting for a letter from ESA / payments stopped to tell UC I was no longer receiving ESA.

ESA have continued to pay me until today (the first day I was supposed to get it and haven't). I'm worried that they'll make me pay back the money to 6th April, but that UC won't backdate my payments. What can I do to get my UC payments backdated?

I'm going to call ESA tomorrow to find out which date the entitlement was ended from. What else can I do to handle this and hopefully not lose out?

I'm also scared that notifying UC that my ESA has stopped will trigger a reason for reassessment? could that happen? I thought maybe I should be explicit 'my ESA has stopped because my working hours exceed permitted working hours on some weeks, not because my earnings or health condition has changed. Is that a good way to word it?

Thanks for your help
Chloe

Hi David,

Thanks for your message, but I think you misunderstood slightly. I am already migrated and receiving UC, but continued to receive cbESA / NS. I'm now ending ESA but keeping UC. My ESA gets deducted from my UC award, so if I have to pay overpayment to ESA, can I recover the gap in my award from UC for the same period?

useful (but depressing) to know they can recover ESA even if official error, thanks for letting me know that.

Thanks for your help,
Chloe