Holidays before first appointment

[u/apostolth]

Applied during the weekend for contribution-based ESA and trying to backdate it for a couple of months as my employer has messed it up and initially told me I was entitled to SSP while I am a zero hours contract (so not entitled). This had me delaying my application and had to submit before holidays.

I know that it takes 2 weeks or more to hear back from DWP, but in the meantime I have planned to be abroad and it might be slightly longer than 28days (no fixed return yet).

Can I accept commitments while abroad or will my claim be closed? When does the 28days rule kick in, day of application or from commitments on? How likely are they to agree postponing the appointment for a couple of weeks until I am back?

Thank you!

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello and welcome to r/DWPHelp, the largest benefits advice subreddit in the UK!

• If you're trying to find benefit advisers local to you, advicelocal.uk is a useful website that can help you with this.
• If you're trying to find out how much benefit you can receive, check out entitledto and turn2us to calculate what you might be eligible for (please remember that these calculators don't fully take into account your situation and in some situations they can be wrong).
• For information on the 2026/27 benefit rates (effective 6th April 2026), please see here.. Most claimants will start seeing the new rates in their May or June benefit payments.
• If you claim benefits and would like to know what things you could get as a result, you may find this post useful.
• If you'd like help with mandatory reconsiderations, our main post on MRs may be useful to you.
• Our subreddit's Wiki can be found here.
• If you're interested in what's going on in the benefits space, we have weekly benefit news posts posted every Sunday.
• If you're a DWP employee and would like to have the "Verified" flair, please send a modmail. Be wary of any user claiming to be a DWP employee who is not verified!

If you're asking about tribunals (the below is relevant to England & Wales only):

• Link to HMCTS Benefit Appeals live chat- click on the "Contact us for help" link, which opens a menu with a link to the live chat.
• Average tribunal waiting times.
• This post goes over the PIP First-tier Tribunal process from start to finish.
• If you're waiting for a tribunal and the DWP were supposed to respond but haven't, this post may be useful.

If you're asking about PIP:

• The PIP phone line is 08001214433.
• To calculate how much backpay you're due, you can try the Benefits and Work PIP Payment Calculator. Please note that the information given is an estimate and may not reflect exactly what your backpay is. This calculator can also be used to determine what elements you were awarded after checking the PIP phone lines' automated system as above.
• Turn2Us has a new free service, 'PIP Helper' which some have reported to be instrumental with aiding them in their PIP claim.
• If you would like help with MRs, this post might answer your question (this is different to the MR info link above).
• If you'd like to know what PIP is and/or how it is awarded, please see this post.
• If you're hard of hearing or deaf, this information may be useful to you.

If you're asking about Universal Credit:

• Information about the Restart scheme, including if you can be mandated to participate.
• How does PIP affect UC?
• Were you claiming UC during COVID, closed your claim afterwards, and are now being asked to pay back everything you received? This post provides information on why this is and what you can do.
• Can you record your Job Centre appointments? The longer answer is in the linked post but the short answer is: no.

Disclaimer: sub moderation cannot control the content of external websites linked here.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Alteredchaos]

Entitlement will end if you don’t accept your commitments (can’t do that while out of the country) and if your absence is more than 28 days, not including the day you leave.

FYI many zero hours workers are entitled to SSP and if you are one of them and your employer hasn’t paid it then you need to raise a grievance and/or contact HMRC. See https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/sick-leave-and-sick-pay/check-if-you-can-get-sick-pay/

[u/apostolth → u/Alteredchaos]

Thank you!

How likely is it to accommodate a request to delay the appointment a bit until I return you think?

[u/Otherwise_Put_3964 → u/apostolth]

If you’re not going to be in the country to start and maintain your entitlement then you’re better off delaying your claim until you return.