Welfare Rights Bulletin (205 August 2008)

• Calculating ESA
  The amount of employment and support allowance (ESA) a claimant is entitled to depends upon a number of factors, including whether the claimant is: single or part of a couple; in receipt of certain benefits; entitled to income-related and/or contributory ESA; and/or still in the initial assessment phase. Edward Graham explains how much ESA a claimant may be entitled to.

Also in this issue:

• News in brief
  
• ESA conditionality rules
  Conditionality sits firmly at the heart of the employment and support allowance (ESA) scheme. In order to receive their full ESA entitlement most claimants will be required to take part in work-focused health-related assessments (WFHRA) and work-focused interviews (WFI). In this article Martin Williams looks at the ESA conditionality rules. For further details about ESA see Bulletin 204 and articles in this issue.
  
• ESA – more detailed rules
  Simon Osborne describes the main employment and support allowance (ESA) rules regarding ESA in youth, periods of limited capability for work and linking rules, claims and payments, and disqualification and decisions and appeals. This article further updates the main ESA chapter (Chapter 7) of CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook. (For full details, see the online version of the Handbook.)
• Is it a fair COP, gov?
  Mark Willis sets out the detail of the Revenue’s revised policy on recovery of overpaid tax credits.
• Equal pay compensation – a square deal?
  Many local authority workers getting lump sum payouts under equal pay deals have found their compensation clawed back under benefit rules. Judith Paterson looks at how such payments should be treated.
• Handbook update
• Legal section
• Court cases round-up
• Commissioners' decisions

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