Permitted Work - Support Group

I am long term award and have recently been successfully migrated from IB to ESA without a Medical. I have done Permitted Work for a number of years - about 4 hours a week and earning £20 each week. I have looked at the Guides but need some clarification:-

Is it possible to earn more than £20 a week when you are in the Support Group? My employer has been promoted and there is now more money available to pay me slightly more each week.

Is it possible to do this work indefinately?

I do not do 'Supported' work as there is no one suitable to offer me support. I am on Contribution based ESA only.

Many thanks for any advice you can give me,

Francis

no harm against francis but im amazed and baffled at how someone who works is placed into the support group & yet others who cannot work & may never work again are being placed into wrag & forced to do work-related activity.

again no offence ment to anyone in this position but i just dont see the logic

m

I thought it was only supported permitted work that can be done indefinitely, but the information Gordon has supplied from Direct Gov, suggests the 52 week rule may not apply for those in the support group - sounds like another bonus over WRAG, but wonder how it would all work out in practice?

I like the idea of doing some very flexible permitted work as I am only in receipt of IB.

greeneyedlad wrote:

no harm against francis but im amazed and baffled at how someone who works is placed into the support group & yet others who cannot work & may never work again are being placed into wrag & forced to do work-related activity.

again no offence ment to anyone in this position but i just dont see the logic

m

It is not Francis to blame but the system itself.

I think you have a moot and valid point in that there isn't really any logic in the scenario you have described, but you could take it one stage further and you would be perfectly entitled to ask the question that if any claimant is doing any kind of work whether they it be full-time, part-time, voluntary, permitted or supported work, should they be receiving ESA at all?

The answer it seems in certain circumstances is an emphatic "yes."

I think part-time permitted work should be allowed because some people may benefit on both a therapeutic and financial level, where they would stand very little chance of securing or sustaining full-time work.

Providing people are not dumped in WRAG when they should be in the support group, it seems fair that special provision should be made for those furthest away from the job market.

However, perhaps it would be best to allow everyone entitled to ESA to do 16 hours permitted work indefinately, as without it their income could be very low indeed and there are very few jobs out there.

One could ask the question why people on JSA are not allowed to do the 16 hours as well - £60 something is a pittance.

And all sorts of other questions ...