Hi
Do go to Citizen's advice as it is a complex area .
You are not being penalized for working part time ( assuming you were working each week ) unless your income was below the class 1 limit is which case you were not paying any NI contributions. I know it seems unfair if you have been contributing for years but have failed to pay in the particular years whilst others have never paid. I was in this position some years ago.
Just to clarify Ally1's comment about ESA it is possible to get contributory ESA for more than 1 year if you are in the support group (If you’ve been put in the support group, it means the DWP has decided that you can’t work and that it doesn’t expect you to do anything to improve your chances of finding work) otherwise limited to 1 year max - then becomes ESA is income based.
The contribution rules are quite complex as you will only get contributory ESA if you meet the following conditions
- First contribution condition - in one of the last two complete tax years, you must have paid Class 1 or 2 contributions on relevant earnings at the lower earnings limit for at least 26 weeks. This means you must have worked for at least 26 weeks of the last two complete tax years; and
- Second contribution condition - in both of the last two complete tax years, you must have paid or been credited with, Class 1 or 2 contributions to the value of 50 times the lower earnings limit.
The 2 tax years that are relevant are the ones that were completed before the benefit year in which your period of limited capability for work began.
- The tax year runs 6 April - 5th April
- The benefit year runs from the first Sunday in January.
- The lower earnings limit for the 2014/2015 tax year was £111 per week, for 2015/2016 it was £112 per week.
So if for example you made your claim in March 2017 the relevant tax years are 6 th April 2014 to 5th April 2015 and 5th April 2015/ 6th April 2016 but if you made your claim in December 2016 then you look 2013/2014 and 2014/2015.
I believe you can still meet the contribution limit if you’re on Statutory Sick Pay and you don’t earn enough to make a
qualifying year Apply for Class 1 credits. Write to: National Insurance contributions and Employers Office, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AN. Include your National Insurance number and say when the credits are for and why you’re eligible.
CAB should be able to advise if this is any help to you.
I think ( you need CAB to confirm ) that even if you are not entitled to income based ESA you could get credited with the class 1 which could assist in the future pension entitlement.
Another thought which may be slightly off the wall is that if you are in a company pension scheme you may be able to take a pension early if your condition is long term . If you are over 55 then you can access your pension pot but there are tax consequences so you would need to take advice
Hope this helps