Fit notes for people transferring LCWRA from LS or ESA to FSUC

Hi,

I know there has been chat about this already but wasn’t sure if anyone had found a way round this!

I’ve recently had a client who is transferring from LS to FS and has LCWRA.  I attended the JC ID appt with client and was told by the JC advisor that the client had to supply a fit note as otherwise it shows as an outstanding action on the account and has the client under the ‘intensive work search’ category until they get the claim details transferred which it seems could take a while.  The JC advisor said that it was the same for anyone transferring from ESA and they are also asked for a fit note at ID appt.  It doesn’t appear to matter that the person may already have been assessed as having LCW or LCWRA and the JC advisors don’t seem to be able to bypass the requirement for a fit note on the system so it seems we have no other option but to (annoyingly) provide fit notes in case it causes any problems with the claim - are other people finding the same?

Thanks

with things like this ive found the DWP stakeholder staff who run the Customer representative groups really useful.  do you get details of those meetings?  ive emailed them re stuff outside of the meetings and they have always been really good (it would be the same one as you i attend).

i havent had any clients go from live to full but i have had a few ESA to uc with LCFW and everyone has had a problem and needed the specific reg quoted.

sakhtar - 20 December 2018 01:36 PM

Hi,

I know there has been chat about this already but wasn’t sure if anyone had found a way round this!

I’ve recently had a client who is transferring from LS to FS and has LCWRA.  I attended the JC ID appt with client and was told by the JC advisor that the client had to supply a fit note as otherwise it shows as an outstanding action on the account and has the client under the ‘intensive work search’ category until they get the claim details transferred which it seems could take a while.  The JC advisor said that it was the same for anyone transferring from ESA and they are also asked for a fit note at ID appt.  It doesn’t appear to matter that the person may already have been assessed as having LCW or LCWRA and the JC advisors don’t seem to be able to bypass the requirement for a fit note on the system so it seems we have no other option but to (annoyingly) provide fit notes in case it causes any problems with the claim - are other people finding the same?

Thanks

There is no need to provide fit notes at all as the law provides for the LCWRA status to go across onto the UC claim. The relevant provision is Regulation 19 Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014. This is confirmed by their own guidance and in a reply from Neil Couling which is on Rightsnet somewhere (Shawn/Daphne can you help?).

We have copied this onto the Journal when making a UC claim for someone with LCWRA status and have found that fit notes are not requested and no work related requirements are applied from the start.

Have you taken it up with your local Partnership Manager? We’re finding ours quite helpful provided things are explained to him carefully and often.

Thanks for your replies, my next step was contacting the jobcentre but wanted to check if this was the same way most folk were going which it looks like it is.  That was what was frustrating me is that it’s in the regs and the issue seems to be with their IT systems more than anything else.

I’ll contact the partnership manager and quote the regs - hopefully that will sort it.

Edit: the guidance has been amended. By the look of it it’s only if the claimant would be treated as LCW/LCWWRA that they’d see an immediate referral for WCA.