ESA Support Group to UC

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alwayssmile123
alwayssmile123 Posts: 33 Forumite
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in Benefits & tax credits
Hi guys, appreciate if anyone could help.

I'm moving area and now have to claim UC. Wondering if I will be automatically transferred to the UC version or will I be reassessed? Do I need a fit note from my doctor?

I called up ESA last week and they told me I am not up for reassessment until June 2020, just for information.

Moving home wth so much to buy and now fearing most of my income will disappear just that like that is causing me sleepless nights.
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  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 17,961 Forumite
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    alwayssmile123 wrote: »
    Hi guys, appreciate if anyone could help.

    I'm moving area and now have to claim UC. Wondering if I will be automatically transferred to the UC version or will I be reassessed? Do I need a fit note from my doctor?

    I called up ESA last week and they told me I am not up for reassessment until June 2020, just for information.

    Moving home wth so much to buy and now fearing most of my income will disappear just that like that is causing me sleepless nights.
    If all of your ESA is income related then once you claim UC your ESA will stop. Your ESA award will be honoured in UC and you will be placed into the relevant group for UC which is LCWRA. However, this doesn't always happen straight away and there maybe a delay before this happens. This means that your first payment may not include the LCWRA element.



    As for your next reassessment, despite the time frame you've been told by DWP you can be re-assessed anytime from 3 months and this includes when you transfer to UC.



    When you claim UC because there's a 5 week wait for your first payment you can claim for an advance payment but this will need to be repaid back from future UC payments.
  • alwayssmile123
    alwayssmile123 Posts: 33 Forumite
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    Thanks Poppy. I think my immediate concern is that I don't have to face the stress of assessment right away and to not have to get a doctor's note.

    I believe that I am on ESA contribution based with an income related top up (if that makes sense). Does this change anything?
  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 17,961 Forumite
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    alwayssmile123 wrote: »

    I believe that I am on ESA contribution based with an income related top up (if that makes sense). Does this change anything?
    Yes, it does. It means you'll continue to receive the CB ESA of £111.65 per week (paid fortnightly) then you'll receive the standard rate allowance and the LCWRA element, plus your rent. Your CB ESA will then be deducted £1 for £1 from your UC payments.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Posts: 15,696 Forumite
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    edited 18 October 2019 at 7:08AM
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    alwayssmile123 wrote: »
    I'm moving area and now have to claim UC. Wondering if I will be automatically transferred to the UC version or will I be reassessed? Do I need a fit note from my doctor?.

    To be clear. You will only need to claim UC if you are in receipt of Housing Benefit and therefore need to claim UC in order to get help with your rent. If you do not get HB and do not need help with rent then you do not need to claim UC and your full existing ESA award can continue.

    There is no automatic transfer to UC. If you need help with your rent at your new address you need to make a claim for UC. The act of claiming UC will end your existing income based ESA and HB. The income based ESA will end on the day you claim UC, HB will run on for two weeks. You will have to have DWP appointments to verify your identity and complete a Claimant Commitment.

    In respect of Fit Notes. If you claim UC you should not have to provide a Fit Note because of your existing ESA status. However, in practice, you may be asked to provide one while the information about your ESA claim is obtained by UC.

    As poppy has explained, if you claim UC any contribution based ESA will continue and will still be paid fortnightly. Your UC will be made monthly.
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • alwayssmile123
    alwayssmile123 Posts: 33 Forumite
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    Thanks Poppy Calcotti and sorry, I should have put all the info in my opening post.

    I do need help with my rent and was told by landlord to claim UC.

    If I continue to receive ESA in the immediate future, I am relieved.

    If someone could confirm that at the initial UC appointments, will I be asked about work and what jobs to look for? Can I refuse to answer? If I am told that claiming UC means I have to be reassessed, can I challenge them?

    In my new UC online account it asks me to list jobs that I will look for, and I've been told I need to complete it before my initial appointment. Do I need to fill this in or can I refuse?

    Thanks again in advance.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Posts: 15,696 Forumite
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    In your journal make a note that you have been on ESA in the Support and understand that you are entitled to betrayed as having LCWRA and to receive the LCWRA element from the start of your claim.

    I suggest you get a Fit Note if you can because this may make things smoother.

    If they choose to reassess you you cannot refuse this because they are entitled to do so.
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • alwayssmile123
    alwayssmile123 Posts: 33 Forumite
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    Many thanks Calcotti, I'll put that note in.

    Your last paragraph worries me. I have been told by my support worker that everyone claiming UC from ESA gets reassessed. So possibly they do this to everyone in my new area?

    Can you just clarify that if I am told that I am to be reassessed that my UC/ESA will continue as normal until the assessment is done?
  • calcotti
    calcotti Posts: 15,696 Forumite
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    alwayssmile123 wrote: »
    Many thanks Calcotti, I'll put that note in.

    Your last paragraph worries me. I have been told by my support worker that everyone claiming UC from ESA gets reassessed. So possibly they do this to everyone in my new area?

    Can you just clarify that if I am told that I am to be reassessed that my UC/ESA will continue as normal until the assessment is done?

    Your Support Worker may be wrong. You can certainly query the need for a reassessment but I don’t think you can refuse it. Your existing LCWRA status should be accepted and the LCWRA element paid until such time as a WCA decision is made that revises it (should that happen).
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • alwayssmile123
    alwayssmile123 Posts: 33 Forumite
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    Many thanks Calcotti. I've translated your note into:

    I have been on ESA in the Support and understand that I am entitled to be treated as having LCWRA and to receive the LCWRA element from the start of my claim.

    Does it sound too arrogant?

    in the journal it asks who to direct my entry (above) to. The two that seem plausible are a "change" in health and "message for my work Coach"

    Which, if either should I direct it to?

    Could you also confirm that I don't have to fill in the "prepare for your commitments meeting" entry on the to do list? (The first questions are what jobs I can do).

    Many thanks again.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Posts: 15,696 Forumite
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    Message to work coach

    I would add the word Group after Support.

    You need to complete the to do list in order to progress the claim. Although, with LCWRA, you are not required to work or look for work UC is supposed to help you find work that you might be able to do which is why it is written that way. It would seem sensible to write something like “because I have xxxxx I am unable to work which is why I have been in the ESA Support Group”

    Please note that these are my suggestions - I have never actually worked my way through a UC claim.

    (I’m going to bed now so that’s me for this evening)
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.
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