Since the start of September, letters – called migration notices – are being sent to people who claim ESA telling them to make an application for Universal Credit
People claiming certain disability benefits may need to take action or risk having their payments stop before Christmas.
Those who are impacted are people who claim Employment Support Allowance (ESA). ESA was the main disability benefit before the introduction of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in 2013. The benefit is paid to those who have difficulty working because they’re sick or disabled.
In a majority of cases, ESA is claimed alongside other benefits with one of the most common ones being alongside PIP. However, those claiming both PIP and ESA may need to take action as the benefit is set to be scrapped and replaced with Universal Credit instead. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is working to move those claiming through its “managed migration” scheme.
Since the start of September, letters – called migration notices – are being sent to people who claim ESA telling them to make an application for Universal Credit. If they don’t within three months, then their ESA claim will be closed and their payments will be stopped.
As letters have been sent to ESA claimants in September, the disruption would come at the worst possible time around Christmas. It makes it crucial that they are aware of what is happening. Under the managed migration plan, six older benefits – which are called “legacy” benefits – are being scrapped and these include:
While PIP is not affected as part of the change, many claimants also get ESA so need to be aware of what is happening. There are differences between Universal Credit and ESA, and the Benefits and Work forum has highlighted the main ones as being:
- Universal Credit is usually a monthly payment instead of fortnightly like ESA
- The housing costs element of Universal Credit is usually paid to you rather than to your landlord – so you have to budget it and make the payments for your rent.
- Universal Credit is paid as a single payment into one bank account. If you have a partner, you might be used to one of you receiving the ESA payment and the other receiving Child Tax Credit, for example
- Universal Credit is a digital system – your claim is made online and you maintain it through an online journal
- You will normally need to sign and adhere to a claimant commitment detailing your responsibilities. You will be placed in one of four conditionality groups depending on your circumstances and if it is not followed you will face sanctions
