LCWRA Advice 28 September 2020 at 11:26AM in Benefits & tax credits 12 replies 363 views

kazzyd_2

I work part time, 17 hours. I've recently switched from Tax Credits (as I was a single parent) to UC. I'm also in the process of a Mandatory Reconsideration for PIP.

Among other health issues I have anxiety and depression. I don't think I could work more than what I do now. I struggle with part time but do it because obviously I need an income.

Someone on here told me about LCWR. So just to clarify, I would need to be only working 16 hours ( I have spoken to management about dropping an hour) and I would need a Fit Note from my doctor stating that I can only do 16 hours and I would then submit this to UC, is this correct?

poppy12345

kazzyd_2 said:

I work part time, 17 hours. I've recently switched from Tax Credits (as I was a single parent) to UC. I'm also in the process of a Mandatory Reconsideration for PIP.

Among other health issues I have anxiety and depression. I don't think I could work more than what I do now. I struggle with part time but do it because obviously I need an income.

Someone on here told me about LCWR. So just to clarify, I would need to be only working 16 hours ( I have spoken to management about dropping an hour) and I would need a Fit Note from my doctor stating that I can only do 16 hours and I would then submit this to UC, is this correct?

You need to be receiving PIP/DLA as well as working more than 16 hours. As you're not claiming PIP then it has to be less than 16 hours to start the LCW process off with a fit note from your GP.

The fit note doesn't need to state you can only do 16 hours.

kazzyd_2

poppy12345 said:

kazzyd_2 said:

I work part time, 17 hours. I've recently switched from Tax Credits (as I was a single parent) to UC. I'm also in the process of a Mandatory Reconsideration for PIP.

Among other health issues I have anxiety and depression. I don't think I could work more than what I do now. I struggle with part time but do it because obviously I need an income.

Someone on here told me about LCWR. So just to clarify, I would need to be only working 16 hours ( I have spoken to management about dropping an hour) and I would need a Fit Note from my doctor stating that I can only do 16 hours and I would then submit this to UC, is this correct?

You need to be claiming PIP as well as working more than 16 hours. As you're not claiming PIP then it has to be less than 16 hours to start the LCW process off with a fit note from your GP.

The fit note doesn't need to state you can only do 16 hours.

I do have a claim in for PIP though, but I'm not very hopeful of being successful.
So if I go down to 16 hours and get a Fit Note, I can claim it, regardless of PIP?

I also don't really understand the difference between a sick note and a Fit Note, I know when I was off last year with depression, I handed a  sick note into work but I've never had a Fit Note.

calcotti

That's not quite correct. Unless you are getting a disability benefit you cannot be referred for a Work Capability Assessment if you are earning more than 16 x NMW/week. Therefore if you earn more than the NMW the limiting hours will be less than 16.

poppy12345

kazzyd_2 said:

poppy12345 said:

kazzyd_2 said:

I work part time, 17 hours. I've recently switched from Tax Credits (as I was a single parent) to UC. I'm also in the process of a Mandatory Reconsideration for PIP.

Among other health issues I have anxiety and depression. I don't think I could work more than what I do now. I struggle with part time but do it because obviously I need an income.

Someone on here told me about LCWR. So just to clarify, I would need to be only working 16 hours ( I have spoken to management about dropping an hour) and I would need a Fit Note from my doctor stating that I can only do 16 hours and I would then submit this to UC, is this correct?

You need to be claiming PIP as well as working more than 16 hours. As you're not claiming PIP then it has to be less than 16 hours to start the LCW process off with a fit note from your GP.

The fit note doesn't need to state you can only do 16 hours.

I also don't really understand the difference between a sick note and a Fit Note, I know when I was off last year with depression, I handed a  sick note into work but I've never had a Fit Note.

Sick notes are now known as fit notes.

calcotti

Statement of Fitness for Work (Fit Note) is the official name for the document produced by your GP to explain why your ability to work is limited due to ill health (what most of us would naturally call a sick note). Terminology changed by the Labour government in 2010 to help change the perception of work as something that should be avoided if someone has a health problem and to encourage employers to make appropriate adjustments to support those with health problems to continue in work.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209782/hwwb-working-for-a-healthier-tomorrow.pdf

The current sick note asks a GP to state briefly what a person’s health condition is and for how long they should be absent from work as a result of this. In short, it focuses on what a person cannot do. The sick note includes a ‘remarks’ section which can, for example, be used by the GP to suggest amended duties as an aid to rehabilitation. However, it does not readily encourage GPs to explore with patients and employers the options for prompt return to work and the workplace adjustments which would facilitate this. Dating in its current form from 1922, it reflects an age when an employer expected an employee to do a specific job rather than today’s more flexible workplace.
......the ‘fit note’ can become a vehicle for providing practical advice to both the patient, and potentially their employer, about how a return to work can be achieved.

Whether any of that has been achieved you can decide for yourself!

Current advice to GPs on how to complete a Fit Note is here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fit-note-guidance-for-gps/getting-the-most-out-of-the-fit-note-guidance-for-gps

kazzyd_2

calcotti said:

That's not quite correct. Unless you are getting a disability benefit you cannot be referred for a Work Capability Assessment if you are earning more than 16 x NMW/week. Therefore if you earn more than the NMW the limiting hours will be less than 16.

Thanks for the reply. Still confused though.

So at the moment I earn £9 per hour for 17 hours. I don't get any disability benefits.

So dropping an hour to go down to 16 is pretty pointless then because I still wouldn't qualify?

poppy12345

kazzyd_2 said:

calcotti said:

That's not quite correct. Unless you are getting a disability benefit you cannot be referred for a Work Capability Assessment if you are earning more than 16 x NMW/week. Therefore if you earn more than the NMW the limiting hours will be less than 16.

Thanks for the reply. Still confused though.

So at the moment I earn £9 per hour for 17 hours. I don't get any disability benefits.

So dropping an hour to go down to 16 is pretty pointless then because I still wouldn't qualify?

That's more than NMW so you would need to work less than 16 hours per week.

poppy12345

calcotti said:

That's not quite correct. Unless you are getting a disability benefit

Thanks. That was badly worded on my part, so i've edited my comment.

kazzyd_2

Thanks for the replies. I'll leave it for now, I couldn't drop to below 16, I couldn't afford to.
I'll see how PIP goes and take it from there.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

calcotti

NMW is £8.72/hour so if you earn more than 16 x 8.72 = £139.52/week you cannot be referred for a WCA.
At £9/hour this £139.52/7 = 15.5 hours.