6.7Universal Credit, ESA and Statutory Sick Pay

For people of working age with mesothelioma, three benefits make up the income-replacement safety net while you are too unwell to work: Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and Universal Credit (UC). They aren’t the same thing, and the order they kick in is sometimes confusing. This chapter takes them in the order most people meet them.

Statutory Sick Pay.If you’re employed and earning above the lower earnings limit, your employer pays SSP for up to 28 weekswhen you are off sick. It’s a fixed weekly rate, set each April and listed on gov.uk. You give the employer fit notes from your GP or hospital team. Self-employed people don’t get SSP — New Style ESA or UC is the route.

New Style ESA.A contribution-based benefit for people who have paid enough National Insurance over the last two relevant tax years. It runs after SSP ends, or from the start if you can’t get SSP (self-employed, or earnings too low). With an SR1 (chapter 6.2), you go straight into the support groupfrom day one — no Work Capability Assessment, no conditionality. You can claim New Style ESA alongside Universal Credit. The current rate is on gov.uk.

Universal Credit. A means-tested benefit, replacing six older benefits for most people of working age. With an SR1, your UC claim is automatically treated as having Limited Capability for Work & Work-Related Activity (LCWRA). That means no Work Capability Assessment, no Claimant Commitment, and an extra weekly LCWRA element on top of the standard allowance, paid from the start of the claim rather than after the usual three-month wait. UC takes savings, partner income and housing costs into account; it isn’t automatic that you’ll be entitled. A benefits adviser will run the calculation in fifteen minutes.

How they fit together.

• Employed with mesothelioma: SSP from your employer first; New Style ESA (with SR1) when SSP runs out or is too low to live on; UC topping up if the household needs means-tested help.
• Self-employed: straight to New Style ESA (if you have the NI record) and UC; no SSP.
• Not currently working: UC with LCWRA (via SR1); New Style ESA if the NI record qualifies.
• Retired (over State Pension age): State Pension and Pension Credit, not UC/ESA. Attendance Allowance (chapter 6.4) is the disability benefit instead of PIP.

Legacy benefits. A smaller group of people are still on legacy income-related ESA, Income Support, or working tax credits rather than UC. If you are, stay where you are until DWP migrates you across; the gain or loss from voluntarily moving to UC depends on the household, and a benefits adviser will run the numbers before you decide.

The carer side. If a family member looks after you and you receive PIP daily living or Attendance Allowance, they may be entitled to Carer’s Allowance (a small weekly payment) and to the carer element of Universal Creditif they’re on UC. Chapter 5.6 covers carers’ benefits in detail. One caveat that catches families out: a carer claim can remove the severe disability addition from your means-tested benefits, so the household maths needs running properly. A free adviser will do it for you; don’t guess.

How to claim.

• SSP:your employer. They can’t refuse if you meet the rules; if they do, ring HMRC’s Statutory Payment Disputes Team on 0300 322 9422.
• New Style ESA: online at gov.uk, or ring the Jobcentre Plus new-claims line on 0800 055 6688. Mention Special Rules for End of Life on the first call.
• Universal Credit: online at gov.uk/universal-credit. Ring the UC helpline on 0800 328 5644 if you need help with the online process or want to claim by phone. Mention Special Rules for End of Life on the first call.

A welfare-rights adviser at Citizens Advice, Macmillan, your local Asbestos Support Group, or Mesothelioma UK’s helpline (0800 169 2409) can run the household’s full entitlement in one sitting and tell you which combination is right. Free of charge. Better than guessing.