New "working while on Incapacity Benefit" rules/Working on Incapacity Benefit (merged

sanfrancisco · 13 April 2006 at 5:07PM

Hello,

Does anyone know the best place to find out about the rules for IB and working? I have looked on the net, but there are conflicting rules?

Can I earn any money, how many hours might I be able to work?

Has anyone does this? Do they make the transition smooth? If were to get a PT job and then found it too much would I be able to get the IB reinstated easily?

Many Thanks x

hjb123 · 13 April 2006 at 5:34PM

Hiya,

The jobcentreplus website is best for this information!

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/dev_008025[1][1][1].xml.html

The rules have just changed and that link tells you what you will want to know!

hjb123 · 13 April 2006 at 5:37PM

Hi,

Just found out that there are new rules for working/income while on Incapacity Benefit - started on 10th April! Copy of them below.

Working while claiming benefit
You cannot usually work while you are getting Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, National Insurance Credits or Income Support because of illness or disability. You may be able to do the following types of work but you should check with your local Jobcentre, Jobcentre Plus or Social Security office before you start.

New Permitted Work Rules From 10th April 2006
You can:

work for earnings of up to and including £20.00 a week for an unlimited period. This is called Permitted Work Lower Limit (PWLL).

or

work for less than 16 hours a week, on average, with earnings up to and including £81.00 a week (from 1 October 2005) for a 52 week period. This is called Permitted Work Higher Limit(PWHL).

do

further periods of PWHL, for 52 weeks, once a 52-week gap period has been served. This is called Permitted Work Higher Limit Subsequent (PWHLS). There is no limit to the number of times you can do permitted work in this category while you are getting an incapacity benefit; but there must be a gap of at least 52 weeks between periods.

or

supported permitted work for earnings of up to and including £81.00 (from 1 October 2005) a week for an unlimited period. Supported permitted work is work done with the ongoing support of a body or voluntary organisation whose job it is to find work for people with disabilities. This could be work done in the community or in a sheltered workshop. It also includes work done under medical supervision as part of a hospital treatment programme.

or

work for less than 16 hours a week on average and earn up to £81.00 a week for as long as your illness or disability is considered sufficiently severe that you are treated as meeting the threshold of incapacity without undergoing a medical assessment.

You do not have to undergo a medical test just because you are doing permitted work. However, if a medical test is due it will go ahead as planned.

You can carry on getting Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance while doing permitted work without it affecting your benefit. If you get Income Support, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit your benefit will be reduced if your average earnings are more than your earnings disregard.

shykins · 13 April 2006 at 6:33PM

i dont work but am about to start getting income from renting out my flat.. do u think that will affect my IB?

thanks

Ted_Hutchinson · 13 April 2006 at 6:58PM

hjb123 wrote:

Just found out that there are new rules for working/income while on Incapacity Benefit - started on 10th April! Copy of them below.

I think the important change is the one which allows people with advanced, progressive conditions which severely limit their capacity for work will be able to earn up to £81 beyond the 52 week limit.

work for less than 16 hours a week on average and earn up to £81.00 a week for as long as your illness or disability is considered sufficiently severe that you are treated as meeting the threshold of incapacity without undergoing a medical assessment.

It really annoyed me that people with progressive conditions, which clearly indicated that a return to full time work was never going to be on the cards were under the previous rules barred from the permitted work rules because these were for people to test their ability to work to see if they could go permanently into work.

They have however toughened up the notification requirements, anyone now caught working while on benefit will be have all disability benefits stopped and be required to reclaim.

If they really wanted folk on disability benefits to return to work they would end the £81 limit and simply set up a benefit clawback in the same way as they currently run for IB and Pension Income. For that you are allowed £85 and lose £0.50 for each £1 pension over the limit.
Consultants, teachers, health professionals could thereby be encourage to undertake the odd days consultancy, supply, bank or whatever and would should their full day or 2 half days pay.
For teachers it's between £90-120.
The thought of possibly loosing your IB and having to reclaim if the £81 is breached will be off putting to those with conditions for which there is no cure and the prognosis is slow deterioration. If they could retain the IB but have their earnings gradually reduced for amounts over the threshold this would be much better for them and for the State.

Ted_Hutchinson · 13 April 2006 at 7:01PM

shykins wrote:

i dont work but am about to start getting income from renting out my flat.. do u think that will affect my IB?

thanks

No. Only earnings are counted. If you were providing services which implied you personally cleaned the windows, did the gardening provided caretakers duties then maybe your ability to work would be questioned. But if you are just banking the money this isn't counted as work.

shykins · 13 April 2006 at 7:06PM

many thanks jus one more question if i may..... do i have to declare to them what the income is or do i jus not mention it??

singlehouseholder · 13 April 2006 at 11:27PM

you are obliged to report any change in circumstances to the DWP.

Torby · 14 April 2006 at 6:39PM

can someone post the correct link please....the one in the thread doesn't work...thanks

CIS · 14 April 2006 at 7:02PM

direct link here
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/dev_008025%5B1%5D%5B1%5D%5B1%5D.xml.html

HappySad · 18 April 2006 at 10:41PM

"work for less than 16 hours a week on average and earn up to £81.00 a week for as long as your illness or disability is considered sufficiently severe that you are treated as meeting the threshold of incapacity without undergoing a medical assessment."

Does this mean that as long as the doctors say that you are not well enough to work you can work and earn upto £81 a week.. and do this for as long as you are not well enough to work? This work would be unsupervised?

Also does any of this earning effect your incapacity benefit?

New "working while on Incapacity Benefit" rules/Working on Incapacity Benefit (merged

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