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New claim for UC & work allowance

JojoMitchell
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Disability Law Service, London

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Very basic question - new claim for UC for a client with mental health.  She will be claiming UC with a fit note but earns £8.90 per hour and can take home £500 a month approx. depending on overtime.  If she works her usual 14 hours her UC is 0.00 (lives with family) but if she’s assessed for LCW then she would qualify due to the £503 work allowance.

She doesn’t receive PIP and unlikely to qualify as her mental health is a very mild form of bipolar so, how does one claim UC but not be eligible until she passes a WCA (hopefully) because of the work allowance?

I have read on previous discussions that you need to be in receipt of PIP etc to be referred for a WCA when doing work under UC…

Thanks

Jon (CANY)
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Welfare benefits - Craven CAB, North Yorkshire

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I think this would fall under UC r28(7)? Previously:

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/11580/

JojoMitchell
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Disability Law Service, London

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Has anyone been successful in using this?

Jon (CANY)
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Not seen it. Example in the ADM seems helpful though:

F5070 Where a claimant or joint claimants would satisfy the income financial condition1 if it were not for the requirement to serve a relevant period, the claimant’s or joint claimants’ income during the relevant period is treated as if it were an amount that allows the claimant or joint claimants to be entitled to the prescribed minimum amount of one penny2. See ADM Chapter E1 for guidance on when the prescribed minimum amount applies.
1 WR Act 12, s 5(1)(b) or (2)(b); 2 UC Regs, reg 17 & 28(7)

Example
Julian and Adele claim UC on 2.6.14, and Adele sends in doctor’s statements. Julian works part–time for 20 hours a week earning £536.46 a month. UC entitlement would be £489.06, so Julian’s earnings mean that the income financial condition is not satisfied. The DM makes a determination that Adele has LCW. If the LCW element was in payment, Julian and Adele would be entitled to UC of £612.68 before taking income into account. The DM treats Julian and Adele as entitled to UC of 1p during the relevant period, and then awards UC including the LCW element from the next assessment period.

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/tna_la_nhs/20170525041155/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/606407/admf5.pdf

JojoMitchell
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Disability Law Service, London

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Great, thanks Jon!

MickD
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Welfare Rights Derbyshire County County

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JojoMitchell - 18 September 2019 12:26 PM

Very basic question - new claim for UC for a client with mental health.  She will be claiming UC with a fit note but earns £8.90 per hour and can take home £500 a month approx. depending on overtime.  If she works her usual 14 hours her UC is 0.00 (lives with family) but if she’s assessed for LCW then she would qualify due to the £503 work allowance.

She doesn’t receive PIP and unlikely to qualify as her mental health is a very mild form of bipolar so, how does one claim UC but not be eligible until she passes a WCA (hopefully) because of the work allowance?

I have read on previous discussions that you need to be in receipt of PIP etc to be referred for a WCA when doing work under UC…

Thanks

UC Regs 41(2)

If the claimant has weekly earnings that are equal to or exceed the relevant threshold, the Secretary of State may not carry out an assessment under this Part unless—

(a)the claimant is entitled to attendance allowance, disability living allowance or personal independence payment;

Your claimant earns under the ‘relevant threshold’ (16 x the national minimum wage) therefore she can have a WCA without having an entitlement to PIP etc.

Jon (CANY)
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Just to backtrack slightly, that’s outdated guidance I posted, sorry. The new guidance is changed to specifically refer to the LCWRA element, following the abolition of the LCW element on new claims:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/661568/admf5.pdf

Not sure if that changes anything though, a WCA should still be carried out I’d have thought…

Charles
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The regs provide for situations where entitlement would be NIL due to the actual LCW/LCWRA element not being included. However, they do not seem to cover situations like yours.

There is however one possibility:
A work allowance for LCW in the past was seemingly only given after the waiting period due to the rule in UC etc (D&A) Regs r35(9)(a). See also the last paragraph in the section entitled “The work allowance” here.
However, now that the LCW element has been removed, that regulation does not apply any more. This being the case, you could argue the work allowance should be provided from the start of the claim. If so, you are in a situation not dissimilar to the situation with students in receipt of PIP attempting to claim UC, which allegedly sometimes works.

[ Edited: 18 Sep 2019 at 01:19 pm by Charles ]