Universal credit commitments meeting tomorrow - please help !

Legacy_user

Answered..

pmlindyloo

Esacontribution wrote: »

Hi everyone

Thanks for your help so far through my other posts.

Im currently receiving new style contribution based esa at the support group rate of 109.65 a week.

My partner has had to leave work and apply for carers allowance which has led to us now having to claim UC to cover our housing costs.

We’ve been to our appointment today to receive our security pins and I’ve been told that I will be put on the assessment phase of ESA, have to provide a new sicknote, and go to a meeting tomorrow regarding my ESA.

Is this the correct procedure that is being followed? I don’t see why I should have to be put back on an assessment phase and provide a sick note when I’ve already been awarded support group and don’t even have to provide DWP with sick notes since my award.

The advisor said that one ‘paperwork has been crossed over’ there shouldn’t be a problem and i should be put back on support group but that this will take some time.

I am not an expert on Universal Credit but do know that if you are in the support group of ESA you should not lose this entitlement on transfer to UC.

What I think has happened is that you now need to make a joint income based ESA claim as your OH is going to be added to your claim. This is providing that you meet the criteria for income based ESA.

It is possible that you will also continue to receive your contribution based ESA as well as UC at first until everything is sorted out.

All I can suggest is to wait until the meeting tomorrow and ask them to tell you what you are going to receive.

Unfortunately UC is so new with many different scenarios being new to the people operating them that mistakes are being made. (sorry, not much help, I know)

Unless anyone has first hand experience of your scenario and can give detailed advice I suggest after your meeting you make an appointment with CAB so that they can check that all is well with your claim.

PS. Might be a good idea to make notes about what they say tomorrow.

Alice_Holt

I would advise taking your ESA letters with you (along with any relevant medical letters), to prove you are in the Support Group.

As per pmlindyloo my knowledge of UC is also limited, however I have heard from various sources that job coaches do not have access to all your current DWP records. So unless you tell them otherwise (and provide proof), they are likely to assume you are capable of work.

Equally it would help if your wife takes in documentation of her CA application (and your PIP / DLA award) and confirm she is caring for you 35 hours a week. This should trigger the carers element of UC.

I believe you should in theory be fast tracked into the LCWRA group (and consequent claimant conditionality). But, again, I understand practice may be different.
"You may have to wait three months for your LCW or LCWRA element to be added on. Though there are some instances where it can be added on straight away.. if you were entitled to one of the Employment and Support Allowance components immediately prior to your Universal Credit claim."
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Universal-Credit/Additional-Elements-of-Universal-Credit

Hope it goes well, please come back and give us an update.

System

Hi everyone,

The advisor at the jobcentre was really helpful.

She made it clear from the beginning that this appointment was just to cross the t’s and dot the i’s.

I went to the doctors this morning to get a sick note but he instead provided me with a letter he had recieved from the jobcentre/dwp 8 days ago clearly stating that he would no longer need to provide me with sick notes as I’d been assessed as in the support group - he was furious I’d been told yesterday to get a sick note and was more than happy to provide me with a copy of the letter he’s recieved which I think greatly worked in my favour when the advisor asked if I did have a sick note.

Before completing a very brief profile together she made it clear that she was removing all job related criteria from my profile and put me down as no work related activity.

My profile was then just made up of where I last worked and if I felt able or wanted to work in the future to which is said it was the last thing I could cope with at this time, she was really supportive and removed all work related criteria.

She then made me aware that WOrk capability assessments usually last around a year so come March I may need to fill in another questionnaire and can use the same answers as last time if nothing has changed and that it may just renew automatically without a WCA as she’s never come across this particular scenario before.

Very relieved here and would like to thank you all for your help.