UNIVERSAL CREDIT AND CARERS

Rubyroobs

How much is your rent and what is the one bedroom local housing allowance for your area?

CuriousCarer

Rubyroobs said:

How much is your rent and what is the one bedroom local housing allowance for your area?

Rubyroobs said:

How much is your rent and what is the one bedroom local housing allowance for your area?

£625PM and £473.72 thanks

CuriousCarer

When taking out the yes from being entitled to "does your partner qualify for a disability element in working tax credit" and answering "none" to "what rare of extra help in Universal Credit does your partner qualify for" the amount does drop down to £275.16 but I suspect she would be entitled to both of those what with being on the highest rate for PIP, being in immense pain/other issues and it being true that she would find it very difficult to obtain new employment if this job fell through.

Thoughts from you lovely people that have experiences with this kind of situation?

Thank you so much

Spoonie_Turtle

CuriousCarer said: 

We actually ran the calculator two ways: Once with me as the "primary" and her as the "partner" and once with the opposite. Each time should have been a joint-claim calculation, as far as I can tell. Each version came out with vastly different sums so I assumed that we were being told what each person is entitled to, rather than what the couple would be entitled to.

That does not make sense. The information should have been the same each time, because the circumstances of the claim don't change.

You would have:
Standard couple element
Carers element
Housing element

Minus carers allowance in full, 63% deduction of earnings.
Whether she is awarded LCW/RA will determine if you have a work allowance (£292 of earnings ignored) and possibly the addition of the LCWRA element.

You can do a manual calculation using the info here https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/new-to-universal-credit/how-much-youll-get/
And find out the rate for housing here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/
(Weekly rates for UC are taken into account as (rate x 52 ÷ 12))

Information about capability for work here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/ it says ESA but the assessment and criteria are the same
https://wcainfo.net/

Incidentally if your partner's PIP mobility is for moving around (walking) then if she cannot self-propel a wheelchair for 50m (safely, reliably, repeatedly) she should easily meet the LCWRA criterion for mobilising.

poppy12345

CuriousCarer said:

When taking out the yes from being entitled to "does your partner qualify for a disability element in working tax credit" and answering "none" to "what rare of extra help in Universal Credit does your partner qualify for" the amount does drop down to £275.16 but I suspect she would be entitled to both of those what with being on the highest rate for PIP, being in immense pain/other issues and it being true that she would find it very difficult to obtain new employment if this job fell through.

Thoughts from you lovely people that have experiences with this kind of situation?

Thank you so much

The answer will be no to the disability element of working tax credits because you're not currently claiming it and new claims are no longer possible for you.

She doesn't have limited capability for work yet because she hasn't been assessed and claiming PIP doesn't automatically entitle you to LCW.

If the Local housing allowance for your area is £472 for 1 bedroom then your maximum entitlement will be as follows.

Standard allowance couples if at least one of you is over 25 £594.04 + housing element £472 + carers element £162.92 = £1,228.96 minus carers allowance £291. Total maximum entitlement is £937 per month. However, your partners earnings received during each monthly assessment period will reduce your total UC by 63%. Without knowing her net monthly earnings it's impossible to advise.

CuriousCarer

Spoonie_Turtle said:

CuriousCarer said: 

We actually ran the calculator two ways: Once with me as the "primary" and her as the "partner" and once with the opposite. Each time should have been a joint-claim calculation, as far as I can tell. Each version came out with vastly different sums so I assumed that we were being told what each person is entitled to, rather than what the couple would be entitled to.

Incidentally if your partner's PIP mobility is for moving around (walking) then if she cannot self-propel a wheelchair for 50m (safely, reliably, repeatedly) she should easily meet the LCWRA criterion for mobilising.

Thank you for all of the information, it is extremely helpful. 

We have a slightly unusual situation so would value your input, should you have any experience in such a circumstance:
My partner works 30 hours a week, from home. She has worked in the job for 5 years but, for ~3 years of that, she originally worked in the office.
From ~2 years ago she has been working from home due to her disability being greatly exacerbated by many elements of travelling to work/being in the office. 
In those 2 years her illness has progressed and it would be impossible for her to find another job should she lose this one unless, perhaps, they let her interview/work from home entirely from the beginning.

In the above circumstance do you know if she would need to give up her job in order to be eligible for LCWRA? She may be working but that is just a stroke of good fortune and unlikely circumstance and not a situation that could be replicated given our current circumstances.

Thanks for your time! 

poppy12345

CuriousCarer said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

CuriousCarer said: 

We actually ran the calculator two ways: Once with me as the "primary" and her as the "partner" and once with the opposite. Each time should have been a joint-claim calculation, as far as I can tell. Each version came out with vastly different sums so I assumed that we were being told what each person is entitled to, rather than what the couple would be entitled to.

Incidentally if your partner's PIP mobility is for moving around (walking) then if she cannot self-propel a wheelchair for 50m (safely, reliably, repeatedly) she should easily meet the LCWRA criterion for mobilising.

In the above circumstance do you know if she would need to give up her job in order to be eligible for LCWRA?

No because she's claiming PIP, although this doesn't guarantee the LCWRA working more than 16 hours means she can start the process off by sending in fit notes from her GP.

See link for the descriptors for LCWRA https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/3904-limited-capability-for-work-related-activity

They will asses her ability to do any type of work and not just the work she currently does.

Alice_Holt

Just to clarify -  you are not currently claiming Housing Benefit?
What is the average of your partner's monthly earnings in the last 3 months?

Spoonie_Turtle

CuriousCarer said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

CuriousCarer said: 

We actually ran the calculator two ways: Once with me as the "primary" and her as the "partner" and once with the opposite. Each time should have been a joint-claim calculation, as far as I can tell. Each version came out with vastly different sums so I assumed that we were being told what each person is entitled to, rather than what the couple would be entitled to.

Incidentally if your partner's PIP mobility is for moving around (walking) then if she cannot self-propel a wheelchair for 50m (safely, reliably, repeatedly) she should easily meet the LCWRA criterion for mobilising.

Thank you for all of the information, it is extremely helpful. 

We have a slightly unusual situation so would value your input, should you have any experience in such a circumstance:
My partner works 30 hours a week, from home. She has worked in the job for 5 years but, for ~3 years of that, she originally worked in the office.
From ~2 years ago she has been working from home due to her disability being greatly exacerbated by many elements of travelling to work/being in the office. 
In those 2 years her illness has progressed and it would be impossible for her to find another job should she lose this one unless, perhaps, they let her interview/work from home entirely from the beginning.

In the above circumstance do you know if she would need to give up her job in order to be eligible for LCWRA? She may be working but that is just a stroke of good fortune and unlikely circumstance and not a situation that could be replicated given our current circumstances.

Thanks for your time! 

It completely depends on how her illnesses affect her. One consideration in the WCA is it there's 'substantial risk of significant harm' if someone is found fit for work, or for work-related activities. [Given that she has already experienced deterioration of her health due to commuting you may find the first case on this page useful https://wcainfo.net/issues/substantial-risk-lcw ]

The reason it can be difficult for people working to be awarded LCW/RA is that the DWP tend to use the fact that someone is wiring to justify finding them fit for work. But if the work they do specifically suits or has been adapted then it can be useful for giving concrete examples to show how their health affects their ability to work.

The only way really to know is just have a look at the descriptors - it's assessed taking into similar considerations as PIP, reliably/repeatedly/safely - and see whether she would likely score based on the descriptors.