UC need some clarity please

Spoonie_Turtle

I've been too ill to work since November 2018, signed off by GP, Occupational Heath Nurse recommended not fit for any type of work, and been given notice by my employer - my employment ends with them early Sept.

I plan to claim UC the day after my employment ends, though I will have a payment coming Sept payday (~£250, ish) and while I think it's incredibly unfair that it's income from before I will have been claiming, I understand the entire system is unfair and I'll still be better off claiming than if I left it until after that final payment. It did cross my mind to claim after this upcoming payday (August) just to get things moving, but technically I'd still be employed and then to have the circumstances change 2 weeks later during the initial assessment period I think would just complicate matters

My questions are:
- Do they base any appointments on which day you opened your claim? (I know about the assessment period, but I mean the day of the week - when I claimed JSA some years ago your signing day was worked out based on the day of your claim.)
- Do you have any choice about the timing of your first JCP interview? I can no longer drive, have no public transport where we live, and no accessible public transport nearby (I use an electric wheelchair) so am completely reliant on my parents for lifts - they work, but occasional appointments I've been able to work around their hours. I don't know if the JCP give any flexibility like that?
- While awaiting a WCA, do they make you go in apart from the initial interview? I have fit notes stating 'not fit for work' and am confident my GP will provide them for as long as necessary.

Thanks in advance for any help. I've read lots about UC but haven't been able to find answers to those specific questions - and the brainfog means I can never completely trust my own judgement anyway.

huckster

Appointments are not for regular days of the week. It is just a case of what is available when booked.

When you phone to book, they will advise what appointments the Job Centre has available. So best to phone when your parents are around, so they can say if they are around to give you a lift.

If you are in a wheelchair and cannot easily get to the Job Cente, apart from first appointment, which must be face to face, they can arrange subsequent appointments by phone. When they book a phone appointment, they tell you to wait for a call at home on x date and x time.

In regard to claiming, when are you waiting for employers final pay, it depends on when this will be. It might be worth claiming UC now and later reporting you have stopped work.

When it your current employers pay date ?

Spoonie_Turtle

Thank you huckster that's helpful and somewhat reassuring. Do you know if they'll try to make me look for work before having the WCA, or will the fit note be enough reason not to have to? (I guess it's circumstance-specific; just wondered if there was a general pattern to these things.)

Payday is always on the 27th; my employment ends on 9th September. I can't claim before August payday because with a full month's pay due then, I wouldn't be entitled to any UC. After that, my remaining ~2 weeks' pay due later will be well under any UC entitlement.

poppy12345

Spoonie_Turtle wrote: »

Do you know if they'll try to make me look for work before having the WCA, or will the fit note be enough reason not to have to?

A fit note doesn't automatically entitle you to limited capability for work.

Spoonie_Turtle

I know that, although it does say I'm not fit for work - I suppose my question is are they likely to treat me as having LCW while I wait for an assessment? Maybe I just need to not worry about it, and hope they believe me when I try to explain my current situation at the initial interview.

calcotti

Spoonie_Turtle wrote: »

I know that, although it does say I'm not fit for work - I suppose my question is are they likely to treat me as having LCW while I wait for an assessment? Maybe I just need to not worry about it, and hope they believe me when I try to explain my current situation at the initial interview.

LCW has a precise meaning, you cannot be treated as having LCW until the WCA is completed. However my understanding is that the work coach may accept your FIt Note as a reason not to require you to look for work - but it will be at their discretion.

Spoonie_Turtle

Thank you, that's what I needed to know

11krage

Hi. Just to add. You'd still be expected to have work search reviews even with a fit note, but of course these would usually be done by phone due to the fit now (if your condition makes getting to the job center difficult) and would usually be leaning more toward seeing how you're doing. There will be some appointments you'd need to attend at the jobcentre.


Since you'd still be receiving some earnings during the first part of your claim you may run into an issue with the work capability assessment so I just want to make you aware of it. Basically even if you have a fit note, if you're earning over a certain amount (this is minimum wage times sixteen hours a week) you wouldn't at that time qualify to be referred for a wca (unless you're also currently receiving a disability benefit).


So once you've received your last pay and declared you're no longer working I'd just contact them to check you've been referred for a work capability assessment. This is just in case you've earned enough that you didn't qualify at the time and the task didn't pop up again, so might need to be manually generated.


It may not be an issue, but you don't want to wait around for a few months only to find you hadn't been referred yet due to that.


Make sure you always have a current fit note on the system. Some claimants let them expire for weeks or months without supplying a new one, and eventually they'd be considered fit for work due to this. A week to get a new one is fine if needed due to availability of doc appointments, but try not to go longer than that.


Keep an eye out for the UC35 to appear on your journal. Once you've received this you know a questionnaire has been sent to you to fill out.


And log onto your account every day. Just fit it in as part of your routine. A quick glance in the morning or evening to see if there's any tasks on your to-do list or questions to answer on the journal.

Spoonie_Turtle

Thank you for that. I won't claim until I'm no longer employed, and my pay will be ~2 weeks' worth (for 15 hrs per week) within the entire assessment period. And thank you for the heads-up about all the other things as well - good to know.

calcotti

11krage wrote: »

Since you'd still be receiving some earnings during the first part of your claim you may run into an issue with the work capability assessment so I just want to make you aware of it. Basically even if you have a fit note, if you're earning over a certain amount (this is minimum wage times sixteen hours a week) you wouldn't at that time qualify to be referred for a wca (unless you're also currently receiving a disability benefit).

If the earnings payment is going to be about £250 as indicated in opening post, and this is the only earnings payment within the assessment period, then this will not prevent WCA referral. £250 in a month is equivalent to £57.70/week which is well below the earnings threshold (16 x £8.21 = £131.36/week).

Spoonie_Turtle

My last day of employment is tomorrow (9th), so I plan to make my claim on Tuesday (10th). I have set up an online account but I'm not sure whether I can get started just yet - do they count the claim from when you click the 'Make a Claim' button, or does it count from when *all* the relevant details have been submitted after that? I don't want to mess this up by doing anything prematurely, but if I can have it all filled in ready to submit on Tuesday I'd like to do so.