Helping brother with mental health problems on Working tax credits with a migration letter

Kittybluecat

hi everyone, I am trying to help my brother as he has received a managed migration letter for UC. He has had mental health problems for years. He has been working 16 hours cleaning and claiming working tax credits with the disability premium. He also claims housing and council tax benefit. He has been struggling with his mental health and has had a bit of a breakdown. I have been trying to get him help from his GP. She thinks that he has undiagnosed Autism and he is waiting for an assessment. He has had a recent period of feeling suicidal and has been having some kind of thoughts that have not been in reality. He has just been diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis and is starting thyroid medication and has also been given antidepressants also. He is unable to sort out his affairs and cannot speak to people on the phone. His bills are all in a mess and I am trying to help him. 

I have applied to PIP and we are waiting for an assessment. They have agreed to speak to me on the phone as he cannot engage with people. He has struggled to go to work so I don’t think that he will be able to increase his hours. I think we will have to get fit notes from his GP. 

His managed migration letter says that he has to make a claim before 10 August. So I am going to help him to do this. I don’t know whether to make a claim as working self employed or to change it to he has a health condition before or after he has moved. How do I do this please? Although, he has been self employed for the past few years (so he should have NAT ins 1 contributions) but he has not been able to go and my other brother has been doing his work for him. We do not think he is going to be able to return in the near future. 

I am not sure about how this change of circumstances is going to affect things and if he will have any transitional protection. He is so anxious about making a claim as he is unable to go out of the house at the moment to attend interviews at the job centre. 

Can anyone help with advice? Thank 

Rubyroobs

If he is unfit to work when moving to UC then he will need to hand in fit notes and wait to be assessed for work capability otherwise will be expected to look for 35 hours work a week. 

Kittybluecat

Thank you. If he changes from self employed to not working because of health conditions, will he lose the transitional protection on migrating to UC do you know? And as he has worked for the past two years, would he go on UC or new style contributions ESA or has that stopped now aswell? Thank you if you know and can help. 

NedS

If his earnings were to drop, his transitional protection could end:

https://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2024-0442/111._Move_to_UC-managed_migration-transitional_protection_V3.0.pdf

When Transitional Protection stops
Transitional Protection stops in the following circumstances:
• couples forming
• couples separating
• when an increase in Universal Credit is greater than the amount of transitional
protection in payment
• the claimant has earnings equal to or above the Administrative Earnings
Threshold (AET) in their first assessment period and the claimant’s earnings
then drop below the AET for 3 consecutive assessment periods at any time
during the Universal Credit claim
• the Universal Credit award is terminated

Kittybluecat

Thank you. It seems very complicated. I am trying to read but we have a deadline for 10 August to make a claim. I want to make sure I do everything correctly. Thank you. 

poppy12345

If he continues to work and earns more than 16 x NMW/week then he will not be able to be referred for a work capability assessment unless he has a PIP award. 

Kittybluecat

We don’t think he is going to be able to return to work in the short term. He is not in a good place so I am not sure what to put on the UC claim. Can you go from self employed before claiming UC and then upon claiming UC change to not able to work. He hasn’t been able to go to work for the past few weeks but my other brother stepped in to cover for him. Ideally, we write on the claim form that he has had a breakdown and can’t work at the moment but does that mean it’s a change of circumstances before  he migrates. I don’t know if that would be a change of circumstances which would affect his transitional protection. 

Newcad

It's good to hear that you have started the PIP claim.

For the UC there is not much time left until 10th August, but I believe that you are over-thinking things.

He is both self employed and currently unable to work, he is not one or the other.

Being practical:

I would start getting Fit Notes from the GP.

On the UC claim state that he is self-employed but currently unable to work due to sickness; provide the fit-note when asked (If he can't get a fit note straight away he can self-certify for the first 7 days, see section 3 in the link below).

That should cover both the employment and sickness aspects.

With a Fit Note provided he will not be required to do any jobseeking.

They will still want to see the self employment details of course.

He will then need to be referred for a Work Capability Assessment. (Similar to the PIP one but only assessing his capabilities to do any work).
That referral might happen straight away (if his Fit Note is for more than 28 days) or after he has been supplying UC with fit notes for 28 days.
There will then be a questionaire to fill in (a UC50), and then later an assessment, probably by phone.

See this guidance on making a claim with a Health Condition: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition

All that does mean that if he gets a Transitional Element on migration then any 'LCWRA element' that is later awarded following the WCA may/would 'erode' any TE that had been awarded, but his UC wouldn't reduce because of that and may well increase depending on how much TE had been awarded.

From the sound of it he is going to need help making and managing his UC claim, the first month in particular can be pretty confusing even without MH issues.
See section 1.1 of the guide that I linked above.
You will also need to inform UC of his inability to go to the Jobcentre. you will probably need some proof or evidence of that. You are expected to attend at least one appointment when making a new claim, an ID confirmation appointment if you can't ID online, an initial Claimant Commitments appointment, (and possibly also one for the self employment details).