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DWP incorrectly terminates legacy benefit and client claims UC in full service area - cannot go back onto legacy even though it was DWP mistake
Dear all,
Last year my client’s JSA award was incorrectly terminated. He was told by the job centre to claim UC (full service area) which he duly did.
Only then did he come to us for advice. We requested a mandatory reconsideration of the JSA award. We have not received a MR decision notice (nearly a year).
We put in a complaint and DWP have admitted they made a mistake by stopping the JSA award but not addressed the MR issue, even with a final complaint to the director general. They have offered the client £100 compensation.
I am encouraging the client to complain further to the ICE but they can only address maladministration issues, not issues of policy or law. They have said that the apparent lack of legislation to allow for claimants to be have their legacy benefit reinstated in cases where the DWP erroneously terminate their claims is a matter for the MP. Is it correct there is no law that allows people to have their legacy benefit reinstated in cases where the DWP erroneously terminate their claims? If so, has any one successfully challenged this sort of thing? How terribly convenient for the DWP that people are falling through into UC this way….
Regarding the MR point - the JSA decision still carried appeal rights and we put in an appeal in time. Should I put an appeal directly to HMCTS? Would there be any point in doing so given that the commencement orders are, I am told the fact you cannot claim legacy benefit once a UC full service claim is made due to the commencement orders - if that is correct?
The ICE told me that they could make a recommendation to the DWP that the client is put is the position he would have been in had he continued on the legacy claim if he is worse off, by requesting that DWP award an uplift of some kind - has anyone ever come across this in practice? The fact is the client is not in fact worse off financially at the moment although he is worse off in terms of work related requirements under UC. When he carries out his usual kind of work, he is self-employed so the black cloud of the MIF is hanging over him - not currently applied but when/if it ever is, he will be clearly financially worse off than if he were on JSA as he will be treated as earning £1047.00 per month, when in reality he is paid far less. So where does that leave us in terms of compensation?
One last thing - he has depression and has been signed off by his doctor. He has been though the WCA and failed (surprise surprise) but appealing.
[ Edited: 8 Jun 2017 at 03:20 pm by EKS_COTTON ]Regarding the MR point - the JSA decision still carried appeal rights and we put in an appeal in time. Should I put an appeal directly to HMCTS? Would there be any point in doing so given that the commencement orders are, I am told the fact you cannot claim legacy benefit once a UC full service claim is made due to the commencement orders - if that is correct?
The way I read it that is correct: while the ending of the JSA award might or might not have been correct, there is no getting away from the fact that the commencement of UC was perfectly correct: in a full service area anyone can make the switch to UC at any time and, in the instant they claim UC, they cause JSA(ib) to cease to exist for the purpose of the UC claim and any award arising from it. I cannot see a way for UC to “uncommence” with retrospective effect.
Of course the claimant could give up their UC award going forward ... but in full service they will achieve nothing by that because, as soon as they make a new claim for JSA(ib), they will cause it to be abolished all over again. There’s no way back in full service.