18 year old son and benefits.

[shoppers]

I have tried to research this but it's all so confusing!

My son is in receipt of PIP, enhanced daily living and standard mobility. He is autistic and has various other diagnoses including dyslexia and dyspraxia. However although life at times is extremely stressful for him he is theoretically able to work if the right circumstances could be found.

Obviously because of his age we no longer receive child tax credit for him which we used to get at the premium rate because of his disabilities. I do still receive carers allowance for him.

My query is would he be entitled to claim JSA? Or should he claim ESA? He lives at home with me, his Dad and younger siblings. We are not in receipt of any other benefits because we have savings but not a high income.

I would be very grateful for any advice.

I think he should be able to claim ESA in his own right.

ESA or Universal credit if you are in a full service Uc area. Once he has been assessed as having limited capability for work, he can still do some permitted work on ESA if the right thing comes along or still get the Limited capability for work element of UC and do some work within the limits of his sick note.

what he really doesn't want to be doing is claiming UC and not handing sick notes in as he would then have to do 35 hours of work searching which is very difficult for many let alone those with a disability.

Ok thanks very much.

I will look into ESA for him. I'm not sure how he will cope with any interviews at the DWP. I assume he would have to attend those if he applies?

And would he need ongoing letters from the GP to support the claim? He was under the care of CAMHS until a couple of months ago so no contact with the GP in terms of his disabilities. But obviously we have a huge amount of paperwork going back years as evidence.

Sorry I meant to ask also about the carers allowance that I currently receive. If he is entitled to ESA would I no longer be able to claim carers? My understanding is that ESA is less than carers allowance so it may not make sense to claim it?

You could still claim carers allowance as long as you are still caring for 35 hours a week.

If you are caring for you son more than 35 hours a week. If your son is not capable of handling his own affairs you can also be made his appointee meaning you would deal with all correspondence etc. You can also request a home visit for the initial appointment if going out and to appointments is too much for your son. You would need a home visit anyway of you are to become an appointee(at Least this is the case on Universal Credit) he would be entitled to his own standard allowance and would need to be assessed again under UC rules or ESA rules and depending on the outcome may get an additional element.
ESA is being phased out apart from contribution based one where he will have had to pay in previously to qualify.

Hope this helps

If you're in a UC full service area, he will need to claim UC.

We've recently supported an 18 year old into UC whom is unable to live alone. His GP gave him a fit note that clearly stated he was unable to work and it was a 3-month fit note.

What this enabled him to do was apply for the LCWRA element which was paid at month 4. He had to have a couple of meetings at the JC, and he was awarded LCWRA without any claim for housing costs.

Our client was awarded LCWRA and he no longer has to attend or supply fit notes.

Once this is applied for and accepted, it could be then your son is able to consider work at a later date when his entitlement has settled down.

Your carers allowance claim will continue as other people have stated as that counts as income for you in your caring role as he still claims the passportING benefit through pip.

Thank you for all your responses.

You've all been very helpful.