esa question

[ahmedlayla]

hi i know this has nothing to do with immigration ! but im on maternity leave from my job and getting employment and support allowance as i dont get smp..
my question is work owe me holiday pay for 6 weeks and 3 days if i get paid this will it effect my esa benefit or will i be ok as i dont wanna have my benefits stoped and wanna leave my job as my postnatal depression is just to much to handle going back to work and having pannic attacks at leaving my baby

[Amber]

I assume this is Contribution based ESA (C-ESA) (paying NI for the last 2 tax years). Unless you are in the support group you will receive C-ESA for 12 months. During this time C-ESA is not affected by most payments including redundancy, holiday and severance payments.

[ahmedlayla]

its income based as far as i know as i hadnt paid enough NI for the last 2 years!

[Amber]

If you leave your job and claim IR-ESA, any final earnings you receive are usually ignored. This includes wages, holiday pay and any pay in lieu of notice.

However, if you were getting IR-ESA before leaving your job, payments made at the end of the job may be taken into account as earnings – seek advice from your local CAB.

[ahmedlayla]

ok thank you for your help.