LCWRA & Work on Universal Credit

Laurasx

Hi,

I currently receive Universal Credit and LCWRA. I work 8 hours a week so never had any issues but this month I felt well enough to take some over time and will be getting some extra hours. Some weeks i did extra hours and some i did not and on average over 4 weeks it worked out that i did 14.5 hours a week so is under the 16 hours a week max.
The only thing I'm worried about is in this months assesment period i get paid 3 times as i get paid every 2 weeks. So due to the over time coinciding with getting paid 3 times in the assesment period my pay is going to be £100 over the work allowance. On average I'll only be earning £100 a week (under the work allowance) but as I get paid 3 times will they think im working more than 16 hours a week and stop my LCWRA? Or does my UC just get tapered off? This overtime was a one off and i doubt I'll do any again for a while but don't want it to mean my benefit will be stopped due to the 3 payments in 1 assesment period.

poppy12345

There's no Maximum amount of hours per week that you can work while claiming LCWRA, like there is for ESA.


For UC there's a work allowance, how much you're entitled to will depend on your circumstances. If you're claiming the housing element then your work allowance is £287 per month. If you're not claiming any housing element then it's £503 per month.



The work allowance means that you can earn that amount of money without it affecting how much you receive. Once you've go over that amount the you'll start to see deductions of 63% for every £1 over the allowance.


Also do be aware that because you have LCWRA then if the work you do contradicts the reasons for your claim then it can go against you the next time you're re-assessed.



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-work-allowances/universal-credit-work-allowances#work-allowance

Rubyroobs

I thought you could not earn more than 16x nmw whilst claiming LCWRA unless you are also on PIP. Am I wrong in thinking this?

Laurasx

That's what i thought? Since im getting paid for 6 weeks worth of work in a 5 week assesment period im worried it will look like I've done more work than i have

Laurasx

Not sure how they'll work out how many hours I've done since i get paid every 2 weeks and have 3 paydays in this assesment period

calcotti

Rubyroobs wrote: »

I thought you could not earn more than 16x nmw whilst claiming LCWRA unless you are also on PIP. Am I wrong in thinking this?

No that's wrong. There are no earnings or time limits for work while getting the LCWRA element.

You are probably thinking of the rule that says you cannot be referred for a Work Capability Assessment if earning more than 16 x NMW (unless you are in receipt of PIP, etc). This means that new UC claimants with health problems but in work may not be able to get assessed in order to get LCWRA. However those who already have LCWRA can build up their work, if they are able to, without the 'cliff edge' that is a significant deterrent to increasing work for those in receipt of ESA.

Obviously, depending on the health conditions and the nature of the work, if a claimant sustains work over a period of time the DWP may choose to carry out a further WCA to review the LCWRA status. Equally obviously there may be situations in which a claimant could earn over 16 x NMW even though they can only manage a few hours of work if those are well paid hours. The earnings level would tell you very little about the claimant's health and the WCA is about capability and not earnings.

poppy12345

Laurasx wrote: »

Not sure how they'll work out how many hours I've done since i get paid every 2 weeks and have 3 paydays in this assesment period

It's not based on how many hours you work during the assessment period. It's how much wages you receive. As you received 3 wages during the assessment period then if you go over the work allowance your UC will reduced by 63% for every £1 that you earn over. This means that for that month you may receive less UC than you normally do.

Laurasx

Oh that's good to know! Think there's a lot of ESA info getting mixed up with UC info on the internet as I thought my benefit would be stopped if i did extra hours. Thanks for your help!

calcotti

Laurasx wrote: »

Oh that's good to know! Think there's a lot of ESA info getting mixed up with UC info on the internet as I thought my benefit would be stopped if i did extra hours. Thanks for your help!

In amongst the many flaws UC has some good bits!

poppy12345

Laurasx wrote: »

Oh that's good to know! Think there's a lot of ESA info getting mixed up with UC info on the internet as I thought my benefit would be stopped if i did extra hours. Thanks for your help!

You were most likely reading about permitted work for ESA, which doesn't include UC.

Rubyroobs

calcotti wrote: »

No that's wrong. There are no earnings or time limits for work while getting the LCWRA element.

You are probably thinking of the rule that says you cannot be referred for a Work Capability Assessment if earning more than 16 x NMW (unless you are in receipt of PIP, etc). This means that new UC claimants with health problems but in work may not be able to get assessed in order to get LCWRA. However those who already have LCWRA can build up their work, if they are able to, without the 'cliff edge' that is a significant deterrent to increasing work for those in receipt of ESA.

Obviously, depending on the health conditions and the nature of the work, if a claimant sustains work over a period of time the DWP may choose to carry out a further WCA to review the LCWRA status. Equally obviously there may be situations in which a claimant could earn over 16 x NMW even though they can only manage a few hours of work if those are well paid hours. The earnings level would tell you very little about the claimant's health and the WCA is about capability and not earnings.

Thanks for explaining .