The UK government wants disabled people to do what work they can. This is what happens if that is under 30 hours a week. Spoiler alert, it's awful.

I have been disabled with chronic fatigue syndrome and a load of other health problems for the past 16 years . I totally agree with the idea that we should all be doing what work we can,  so 2 years ago, I started that quest. 

I tried a few hours a week in a local office and got very ill. After a lot of failure, I decided that the only option was to become self employed. 

I work from my bed making polymer clay items and sell them on etsy.  I manage to work around 10 hours a week from my bed. 

I am able to do this under the supported Permitted Work rules.

Supported Permitted Work and Permitted Work rules

The following has been cut from the UK official government website on this.

Claiming ESA if you work

Your ESA isn’t usually affected if you either:

• earn up to £20 a week
• work for less than 16 hours a week and earn up to £115.50 a week, for 52 weeks or less (or for any length of time if you’re in the support group)

This is called ‘permitted work’.

You can also do ‘supported permitted work’ and earn up to £115.50 a week. This must be part of a treatment programme, or supervised by someone from a local council or voluntary organisation whose job it is to arrange work for disabled people.

You must tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if you start doing permitted or supported permitted work. They’ll send you form PW1 to fill in and send back to them.

Any volunteer work you do needs to be reported. It normally doesn’t affect your ESA.

 My problem with this 

I have put all my savings into tools and materials, but the benefits system will not look at profit.  They look at income.  So, the fact that over half of what is paid goes in materials and postage does not matter,  it all is held against me. 

This leaves me walking a very thin tightrope.  I have to try and build my business all by myself, to a point where I am not in the red and I am earning enough to stop calming. But at no point, can I have  any income of over £100 per week  (they do not average it out,  so if I sell well in the Christmas period and sell nothing from January to April, it doesn't matter.  If I go over it in any one week, I am screwed).

I feel like I am living under a constant threat of having to fold the business and loose a lot of money. 

Also the rules state that I have to be on the books of a company that is approved to fulfil the "supported" part of the conditions. There are very few of these. In Surrey  (where I live) there is one.  Employability. They are swamped and if you can't get them to take you or they drop you at any time, I either have to stop working or stop calming.  

You are only allowed to work for 52 weeks otherwise. 

You need to be able to work  30 hours a week for tax credits, so no chance of help there.

This is what they do when you actually do what they ask.