SFE - Proving I have Worked For 3 Years

3

I am 21 and have been supporting myself for the last 4 years, and I need to prove it with documents, either my P60s or wage slips, however, last year I changed employers and I now cannot access my P60s or wage slips as they were online through a portal, which I can no longer access

I have tried to email my past employer to have them send me the P60s i need, but I am unable to get a response.

Does anyone know if there’s anything I can do? I can send a letter to HMRC, but they only provide history of employment details that way for insurance claims.

I can also see a page on the gov website regarding history on PAYE details for each tax year for the last 5, but there’s not much info on this sheet when I print it so I am unsure if I can use that or not, especially since it’s not on the drop down menu when I select which supporting document to submit on SFE

Also does anyone know if there is a threshold? This year I have made just over 24k, last year just over 16k and the year before just over 10k, is this enough to prove I have been supporting myself anyway?

Any help or info will be appreciated!

Reply 1

Stephen SLC

Official Rep

8

Hi there, a student can be considered independent if they have supported themselves financially for at least three years prior to the 1st day of the 1st academic year of the course.The three years do not need to be consecutive and can include periods when students are:

•

In paid employment

•

In receipt of state benefits such as: Income Support, JSA, incapacity benefits, invalidity pension or maternity allowance, PIP or DLA. (this is not an exhaustive list)

Acceptable evidence can include:

A P60, any pay slips ideally month 12/week 52, benefit receipt letters, statement of earnings from HMRC or employer letters, tax returns or an accountants letter. Screenshots may be accepted if they show the student’s name or National Insurance Number (NINO). If the student was provided food and accommodation in place of an income this can also be considered as self-support, but an employer letter will be required confirming the details of employment and what was included. For students in receipt of benefits the important factor is the claim dates and not the amounts received, we must see the period the student has been claiming benefits. For customers in receipt of Universal credit they may only have notification of proposed payments, for this we can accept a clear bank statement showing payments received. The bank statement will usually show the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) payment reference.

For students providing bank statements to show savings these must have been gained from previous income.

As to the threshold, unfortunately, I would be unable to confirm this for you at this time, this can only be confirmed at the time of review by the actual assessment team. Thanks, Stephen.

Reply 2

Ollyc03

OP

3

Original post

by Stephen SLC

Hi there, a student can be considered independent if they have supported themselves financially for at least three years prior to the 1st day of the 1st academic year of the course.The three years do not need to be consecutive and can include periods when students are:

•

In paid employment

•

In receipt of state benefits such as: Income Support, JSA, incapacity benefits, invalidity pension or maternity allowance, PIP or DLA. (this is not an exhaustive list)

Acceptable evidence can include:
A P60, any pay slips ideally month 12/week 52, benefit receipt letters, statement of earnings from HMRC or employer letters, tax returns or an accountants letter. Screenshots may be accepted if they show the student’s name or National Insurance Number (NINO). If the student was provided food and accommodation in place of an income this can also be considered as self-support, but an employer letter will be required confirming the details of employment and what was included. For students in receipt of benefits the important factor is the claim dates and not the amounts received, we must see the period the student has been claiming benefits. For customers in receipt of Universal credit they may only have notification of proposed payments, for this we can accept a clear bank statement showing payments received. The bank statement will usually show the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) payment reference.
For students providing bank statements to show savings these must have been gained from previous income.
As to the threshold, unfortunately, I would be unable to confirm this for you at this time, this can only be confirmed at the time of review by the actual assessment team. Thanks, Stephen.

Hi Stephen, thankyou for your detailed response,

The only options I have for supporting documents are:
“Documentation from your employer(s) confirming your earnings..”
“Your wage slips..”
“Your P60(s)..”
“Documentation confirming what benefits you got..”

Or “I cannot provide any of these” , the “I cannot provide any of these” option just makes it so I am unable to supply any documents.

For ‘statement of earnings from HMRC’ , which category would this fit under, as I don’t want to make a mistake and delay further. Also for statement of earnings from HMRC, is this the documentation which displays, in this order:

Tax Year
Employer name
PAYE reference
Start date
End date
Taxable income
Income tax paid
Tax Code

Thanks so much for your help

Kind Regards,

Reply 3

Stephen SLC

Official Rep

8

Hi there, provide the evidence that you are able to provide to allow us to review. This can be a mixture of documents, so we can have a full 3 years (does not need to be consecutive years) but a full 3 years in total to show that you have self supported yourself prior to the start of your course. As for the Statement of Earnings, yes, that is the correct documentation format as this provides a detailed breakdown of income, so please submit everything that u can to cover the required 3 year for review. Thanks, Stephen.

Reply 4

Ollyc03

OP

3

Original post

by Stephen SLC

Hi there, provide the evidence that you are able to provide to allow us to review. This can be a mixture of documents, so we can have a full 3 years (does not need to be consecutive years) but a full 3 years in total to show that you have self supported yourself prior to the start of your course. As for the Statement of Earnings, yes, that is the correct documentation format as this provides a detailed breakdown of income, so please submit everything that u can to cover the required 3 year for review. Thanks, Stephen.