SDP Transitional Protection (natural migration)

Client was in receipt of income based ESA (support group) which included SDP.  He found a full time job so moved to UC in about November/December 2022 but things didn’t work out and he fell foul of the AET earnings rule, so after 3 months lost all his SDP.

Today he has received a letter adding back the transitional protection from January 2023 to November 2023.  I’m wondering if I have missed a change in the rules.  Could someone enlighten me?

UC(TP) Reg 56 applies to an SDP element, so it should stop after three consecutive APs in which earnings dropped below the AET, assuming they were >= AET at the start of the UC award.

All I can think of is:

- He presented fit-notes when his hours reduced, or perhaps even at the start of the claim
- He has been assessed as having LCWRA
- what has been added from January 2023 is not in fact an SDP element but the LCWRA element

My LCWRA theory is based on the fact that a claimant on PIP can be assessed as LCWRA for UC purposes even if they are earning an amount that automatically means they do not have LCW/LCWRA for ESA purposes.  Is it possible that he presented fit notes at the start of his UC claim and has an LCWRA element from three months in?  This would erode any SDP element to zero even if he still had one.

Thanks. 

LCWRA has been in payment throughout, so it is not that. 

UC was recalculated due to a successful mandatory reconsideration relating to an incorrect work allowance being used.  I understand this had to be done clerically and guess this is where it went wrong.  The statements keep showing £120 transitional protection but includes an annotation saying it ‘has been withdrawn as ‘your earnings have dipped below the amount agreed in your claimant commitment for 3 months’.  He has no work related requirements ????