Universal credit - appointment

sassyblue

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Did you report your health condition when you made your UC claim?  If not you should do so ASAP and they will ask you for details of your fit note.

At your appointment you will need to tell the work coach how your health is making life difficult for you, and they have discretion to turn off work-related requirements.

I would echo poppy's advice to do a benefits calculation to see if you're entitled to anything with your husband's earnings (try a calculation with a condition affecting your ability to work, and another without, to see what the difference could potentially be).

Thank you,  I have already done the eligibility calculators which led me to UC but it was the 'work coach' bit that spooked me.

When I applied online for UC (only earlier this week) I put my health conditions in and details of the fit note.

I have gone online and applied for new style ESA this morning.  I’ll keep the UC appointment next week just to see what it entails.  

Thanks all.

calcotti

sassyblue said:
.. I have already done the eligibility calculators which led me to UC ..

So how much UC did the calculator suggest you might get - assuming you put in all your husband's earnings etc.

Spoonie_Turtle

sassyblue said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Did you report your health condition when you made your UC claim?  If not you should do so ASAP and they will ask you for details of your fit note.

At your appointment you will need to tell the work coach how your health is making life difficult for you, and they have discretion to turn off work-related requirements.

I would echo poppy's advice to do a benefits calculation to see if you're entitled to anything with your husband's earnings (try a calculation with a condition affecting your ability to work, and another without, to see what the difference could potentially be).

Thank you,  I have already done the eligibility calculators which led me to UC but it was the 'work coach' bit that spooked me.

When I applied online for UC (only earlier this week) I put my health conditions in and details of the fit note.

I have gone online and applied for new style ESA this morning.  I’ll keep the UC appointment next week just to see what it entails.  

Thanks all.

Understandable, but the people who work at the Jobcentre and see claimants for these appointments are all called work coaches, whether the claimant is looking/has to look for work or not.  So please don't be too alarmed by that

The initial appointment will be to verify your identity and set up a 'claimant commitment' - things you need to do to get paid the UC, these should be tailored to your circumstances and take into account your health.  

ESA will be deducted from your UC in full, just so you're aware.

sassyblue

calcotti said:

sassyblue said:
.. I have already done the eligibility calculators which led me to UC ..

So how much UC did the calculator suggest you might get - assuming you put in all your husband's earnings etc.

I’ve done a couple of calculators, one was £577 and one was about £400 including child benefit, so I’m really not sure what I could end up with.  We have just over £5k in savings.

sassyblue

poppy12345 said:

It's a means tested benefit and you're living together so entitlement will be based on your joint circumstances. Have you used a benefits calculator to check if there's any entitlement? Are you renting your home or do you own it? If you own it then there may not be any entitlement to UC but it will depend on the earnings your partner receives each month.

You should look into claiming New style ESA as mentioned by calcotti. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance#eligibility

Just an update.

At the very beginning I did a couple of different benefits calculators (Turn2Us was one) and that led me to applying for UC.

After attending the appointment with a work coach (one hour round trip), filling in a lengthy form about my health conditions and being threatened in their letters about being hauled in front of a panel to question me about my health (causing my anxiety to skyrocket), I’ve learned tonight hubby earns too much for us to qualify for UC.

Earlier this week I even had an email threatening me with sanctions for not going into the UC website to look for new updates.  I had to log in and accept said 'sanctions' may occur, yet if I get an update I get an email anyway to alert me?!  

I’m absolutely furious.  What a ridiculous system.  38 years in full time employment, what have I paid in for?

I’ve received emails and letters telling me I’d find out today what I was entitled to and would be paid next week, when all the time they must have known we weren’t entitled and said nothing!

I’m so angry.  A complete waste of my time, petrol and their time and money in assessing everything.

I suppose it’ll be ESA even though that’s barely anything.  I can see why people are so !!!!!! off with the government and political landscape.  I’ve been lucky not to need to be in this position before and it’s not fit for purpose.

poppy12345

sassyblue said:

At the very beginning I did a couple of different benefits calculators (Turn2Us was one) and that led me to applying for UC.

UC is based on earnings received each month. I can only assume you filled out the benefits calculator incorrectly, if it told you that you were entitled.

sassyblue said:

After attending the appointment with a work coach (one hour round trip), filling in a lengthy form about my health conditions and being threatened in their letters about being hauled in front of a panel to question me about my health (causing my anxiety to skyrocket), I’ve learned tonight hubby earns too much for us to qualify for UC.

That's not how the work capability assessment works. You're not "hauled" in front of a panel at all. It's with a health assessment provider (one) where they ask you questions related to how your health conditions affect your daily life.

sassyblue said:

I’ve received emails and letters telling me I’d find out today what I was entitled to and would be paid next week, when all the time they must have known we weren’t entitled and said nothing!

No, they wouldn't have know whether there was any entitlement until the last day of your assessment period. A few days later your statement is produced and in there it will have details of the elements you're entitled to, any earnings received, as well as all the deductions. Unfortunately, working for 38 years doesn't automatically entitle you to means tested benefits.

sassyblue said:

I suppose it’ll be ESA even though that’s barely anything.  I can see why people are so !!!!!! off with the government and political landscape.  I’ve been lucky not to need to be in this position before and it’s not fit for purpose.

Entitlement to New style ESA will depend on your NI contributions in tax years 2020/21 and 2021/22. Any years before that are not considered.

Spoonie_Turtle

sassyblue said:

poppy12345 said:

It's a means tested benefit and you're living together so entitlement will be based on your joint circumstances. Have you used a benefits calculator to check if there's any entitlement? Are you renting your home or do you own it? If you own it then there may not be any entitlement to UC but it will depend on the earnings your partner receives each month.

You should look into claiming New style ESA as mentioned by calcotti. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance#eligibility

I suppose it’ll be ESA even though that’s barely anything.  I can see why people are so !!!!!! off with the government and political landscape.  I’ve been lucky not to need to be in this position before and it’s not fit for purpose.

To be fair the standard allowance of UC is not much more than ESA, at equivalent single person and couple rates (although couple is not available with new-style ESA).  The LCWRA element pays a bit more but only if earnings are low enough to not have a deduction.


That's a shame the results were not what the calculator said, but it could be explained by you not having the work allowance or LCWRA yet.

Would you mind showing us a screenshot of your statement, with any personally identifying details cropped out?  It's possible it might be worth keeping your claim open to have a WCA which would drastically affect the calculation if you are found not fit for work, especially if you were assessed as having LCWRA.  We can work that out with the financial information on your UC statement, if you'd like.

The sanctions thing is puzzling, though I guess it could have been because your husband's earnings hadn't yet come through?  Your work coach should only put requirements on you that fit with your health, and they have discretion to turn them off altogether.

Longwalker

At least on New Style JSA - if you qualify - you get the odd phone call to see how you are doing and what jobs you have applied for and thats it. No online journals or anything like that. However it only lasts 6 months and you only can claim if you have enough NI contributions in the qualifying years

I applied for it at the start of this month and was invited in for an appointment with a work coach to make my claim, and straight away he said to me , I think you need to be on ESA and really spent my whole appointment advising me on going on ESA. He also checked with me about Mr L's earnings, said UC wasnt an option and actually said UC is a headache if all I wanted was something to get me by till I could earn again. At that time I was adamant I wanted back to the work place and had already started job searching and applying for work

However things took a turn for the worse 2 weeks down the line and I had to go on ESA

So easy to apply. I done it online, filled in what date I wanted to apply from, a short summery of what was wrong with me and then posted in my sick note. Within 3 days I got a text telling me to close my JSA claim so they could swap me onto ESA , and so far thats been that.

As for the New Style Job Seekers, its £77 a week rising to £84.80 on April 11th

As far as I know, ESA and New Style JSA are not means tested so your husbands earnings are not taken into consideration. However for JSA you do have to be looking for work, if you arent dont apply for it

As far as I know, ESA isnt a claim and sit back benefit, there comes a time when you have to go for assessments. For me personally thats fine as I do want back into the work place , Im just seeking some assistance whilst I cant work - Ive not been able to work since Christmas and was surviving on fresh air and savings, The savings are now depleted

poppy12345

Longwalker said:

At least on New Style JSA - if you qualify - you get the odd phone call to see how you are doing and what jobs you have applied for and thats it. No online journals or anything like that. However it only lasts 6 months and you only can claim if you have enough NI contributions in the qualifying years

To claim New style JSA you must be looking for work. The OP has a health condition that's preventing them from working at the moment, so this benefit doesn't apply to them.

As advised, it will be New style ESA they will need to look at claiming, depending on their NI contributions.

Longwalker

poppy12345 said:

Longwalker said:

At least on New Style JSA - if you qualify - you get the odd phone call to see how you are doing and what jobs you have applied for and thats it. No online journals or anything like that. However it only lasts 6 months and you only can claim if you have enough NI contributions in the qualifying years

To claim New style JSA you must be looking for work. The OP has a health condition that's preventing them from working at the moment, so this benefit doesn't apply to them.

As advised, it will be New style ESA they will need to look at claiming, depending on their NI contributions.

Which I had duly noted in my post

I posted showing that sometimes you are given wrong advice. It was my job advisor who really pushed me on to ESA, explained it all too me. I, like the OP have worked all my life and dont have a clue as to how the benefit system works, only ever hearing about UC, that UC is the umbrella benefit.I also knew that UC is a joint claim and that I couldn't claim it as my husband works. I only found out there was a thing called new style JSA that I could apply for in my own right by word of mouth. 

As for ESA, never thought I could apply for it. I thought that was for people who were really not fit to work long term, didnt know it was statuary sick pay and I only thought SSP was paid when you were in work

I appreciate you are a bit of an expert around benefits and have been posting good advice for years on these forums, but surely other peoples experiences of the benefit system are valid as long as they are not giving wrong or dangerous advice? I gave my experience and also said to the OP that JSA you do need to be looking for work but theres no journals or such