Disability WORKING allowance????

Chrysalis

Kimitatsu wrote: »

You may get Disability Living Allowance if:

• you have a physical or mental disability, or both
• your disability is severe enough for you to need help caring for yourself or you have walking difficulties, or both
• you are under 65 when you claim

To get the care component of Disability Living Allowance, your disability must be severe enough for you to:

• need help with things such as washing, dressing, eating, getting to and using the toilet, or communicating your needs, or
• need supervision to avoid you putting yourself or others in substantial danger, or
• need someone with you when you are on dialysis, or
• be unable to prepare a cooked main meal for yourself (if you had the ingredients), if you are aged 16 or over

There are three rates of care component depending on how your disability affects you:

• the lowest rate, if you need help or supervision for some of the day or you are unable to prepare a cooked main meal
• the middle rate, if you need help or supervision frequently throughout the day, or during the night, or someone with you while on dialysis
• the highest rate, if you need help or supervision frequently throughout the day and during the night

You can get Disability Living Allowance for your care needs even if no one is actually giving you the care you need, even if you live alone.
If you have mobility needs

To get the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, your disability must be severe enough for you to have the following walking difficulties, even when wearing or using an aid or equipment you normally use:

• you are unable or virtually unable to walk, or you have no feet or legs, or
• you are assessed to be both 100% disabled because of loss of eyesight and not less than 80% disabled because of deafness and you need someone with you when you are out of doors, or
• you are severely mentally impaired with severe behavioural problems and qualify for the highest rate of care component, or
• the effort of walking could threaten your life or seriously affect your health, or
• you need guidance and/or supervision from another person when walking out of doors in unfamiliar places

There are two rates of the mobility component depending on how your disability affects you:

• the lower rate, if you need guidance or supervision out of doors
• the higher rate, if you have any of the other, more severe, walking difficulties

Some people will be entitled to only the care component or the mobility component, others will be entitled to both.

There is no mention of working there, but you could check your entitlement on www.entitledto.co.uk, there you can put in differing scenarios and see if it is worth you claiming DLA. Please also bear inmind that the legal services commission has contracts in place with advisory services such as legal centres and CAB's to provide welfare benefits afdvisors who can help appeal against the DLA decision if it is unfair.

As far as I am aware though DLA is not a means tested benefit, and therefore there should not be a barrier to you working as the benefit is for the disability rather than whether you can work or not. You do have to inform the DWP though of a "relevant change of circumstance" which may affect the rate of DLA that you get (i.e a change in care allowance or disability allowance).

You have nothing to lose by applying for DLA, and seeking further advice if it is turned down, and in addition being in receipt of DLA also opens up doors to higher benefit rates elsewhere.

HTH

someone on IB claiming for DLA carries risks as a failed DLA claim can trigger an IB medical and a WFI.