What is Employment and Support Allowance?This is intended to be a benefit to assist people who have difficulty in holding down a regular job, are long term sick or have other issues.A good friend of mine was having a terrible time with the DWP’s Employment and Support Allowance, as the allowance rates have been cut while on appeal and he was receiving contribution based employment and support allowance however this ran out and was then placed on to income based ESA less than £100 for two weeks benefit, to top it all off the appeals process is currently taking over 6 months so having realised he could not survive much longer especially not 6 months or more, he looked into getting working tax credit.As the pain in his lower back restricts him from sitting or standing for too long, he has found that going self employed is the only reasonable way to make a comfortable living and to support his family.The AppealA rather informal meeting in a room with 3 adjudicators 1 will probably be a medical practitioner and the other 2 will know the ins and outs of the law relating to ESA, they will review the appeal papers, any medical evidence you supply to support your claim and ask you some questions relating to your illness or disability and you may have to undergo a medical examination on the day. They will then decide whether the decision makers’ decision should stand or be overturned.The general consensus is that even going to a tribunal will not make much difference as the government are now taking a hard stand on reducing the benefits bill at any cost.Taking action now will be a better option.Work in a job that causes constant pain or take the sensible option?The consideration of self employment should be considered as you can work from the comfort of your own home. As long as you work for over 16 hours and can find a suitable application for your time you qualify for Working Tax Credit.What is the HMRC Working Tax Credit?Working Tax Credit from the HMRC in my opinion is a benefit that aims to make it worthwhile for people to go to work and in turn reduce the unemployment benefit figures. However Tax Credits are a very useful support benefit and should be viewed that way.How is he going to work at home?Having recently been disallowed ESA my good friend has decided to take the plunge into working from home. Having decided that setting up his own business is his best option as he can work when he is able and has the comforts of home, where he finds he can relieve the pain by changing what he does and for how long he does it.The idea of making and selling something online is rather daunting but if done correctly can be very lucrative and with the added “bonus” of getting working tax credits this can boost your initial weekly income by up to £100 if not more.Check out the disabled link on the Tax Credit calculator as claiming ESA previously qualifies you for the disablement premium.What sort of business is he going to do?Here lies the problem, when I first spoke to him about this he had no idea where to start and didn’t think he had any skills or expertise in any area, however after I showed him a couple of websites of qualified mentors and teachers he chose one, stuck with it and followed the instructions he is off to a flying start and has just had his first $500 week.