Universal Credit and broken arm...

seeking_help

Hi - posting on behalf of my daughter. She has a broken arm but is on Universal Credit, and has to do/did work related activity. She works on a zero hours basis so some months she receives wages but others she does not so she has to look for work and attend interviews too.

She has to self certify for 7 days and then her GP will give her fit notes, she is waiting on a letter for further treatment. She broke her arm on Wednesday.

My questions are when does she need to change her health on her universal credit account? She has asked her employer about SSP but unlikely she will receive it due to being zero hours worker so is there anything else she could claim - or because a broken arm will eventually get better, will she just be living on universal credit as a single person and nothing to replace her potential earnings that she would have received if she could work? She has had to cancel 3 upcoming shifts as she cannot use her arm at all. Thanks for any help.

calcotti

Nothing else she can claim. She will get the same amount of UC she gets in the months she doesn’t get work.

poppy123456

Even if she reports her broken arm to UC and sends a fit note, when claiming UC you're classed as a job seeker until a decision is made on a work capability assessment. It's a work coaches discretion whether they turn off or reduce work commiments. Some do and others don't.

seeking_help

Exactly what I thought but nothing wrong with asking the question to make sure. Technically she is not currently classed as a job seeker as her earnings have been above the threshold for a number of payment awards so her commitments are slightly different to be honest as she is not in the same category but I take your point.

poppy123456

At the moment she's not earning so yes she will be classed as a job seeker.

seeking_help

Eventually she will be, but her current pay award and next one fortunately shows her earned income which is above the threshold, so she will still have the same commitments for the next couple of months, which includes no work search activity. Clearly after this point they will ask to look at her commitments which I am hopeful she will be able to do as she will be recovering far better by then, hence might be able to attend interviews etc for work search purposes.

Alex_Alumni

Thanks for posting your query @seeking_help I'm glad the community could reassure you, and I hope your daughter's arm heals soon, it can't be a nice experience!

If you or your daughter need help with anything in the meantime, just let us know