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Confused and need help

confusedandneedhelp

Hi everyone,
I was on ESA( support group+personal allowance + enhanced disability premium) and was not able to work from 2017-2022
My support worker helped me get back to into work on an 18 hour a week contract. I am earning about £390 pw. I was advised that I have to close my ESA claim and move to UC and that I will get the following elements on UC:
Single over 25 element
LCWRA element
Work allowance of £573 due to LCWRA
I was also told that earning threshold won't apply to me as I still get my PIP and im in supported employment.

However, UC have said I'm only entitled to single over 25 element as I closed my ESA claim before claiming UC so my LCWRA from ESA hasn't transferred over. Also said I have to provide fit notes again and will be reassessed.
I only followed the advice that I was given and its turned out to be wrong advice.
I am £400 worse off as a result. I don't know what my rights are or what options I have.
Please can someone advise me? I really feel confused and fed up.
Thank you

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poppy123456

confusedandneedhelp said:

I was advised that I have to close my ESA claim and move to UC and that I will get the following elements on UC:
Single over 25 element
LCWRA element
Work allowance of £573 due to LCWRA

Who advised you this? Because it's not correct. What you should have done is claim UC before your ESA claim ended. However, if you were already working more than 16 hours per week then there would have been no entitlement to ESA anyway.

Had you claimed UC before your ESA ended then you would have been entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of your claim. You would have also been entitled to the work allowance, which means that £573/month of earnings received would be ignored before the deductions apply.

confusedandneedhelp said:

I was also told that earning threshold won't apply to me as I still get my PIP and im in supported employment.

I don't know what you mean by this. There's no earnings threshold when claiming UC.

You will now need to report a change of circumstances and report your health condition, supported by a fit note within 7 days of that. You will need to go through another work capability assessment. There will also be a waiting period of 3 full assessment periods before the LCWRA can be paid, if you're found to have this.

calcotti

Unfortunately you should have been advised to claim UC before starting to work for more than 16 hours. Your entitlement to ESA ended as soon as you started working over 16 hours/week.

confusedandneedhelp

Thanks for your reply. My support worker gave me that advice. The gap between closing my ESA ( I informed them the day b4 i started the job) and opening my UC was less than a week. Isn't there anyway for me to appeal this and explain that I was given wrong advice?

poppy123456

You really shouldn't have relied on the advice of your support worker, unless they have knowledge or experience in the benefits system. Unfortunately, no amount of challenging will change the outcome.

calcotti

confusedandneedhelp said:

Thanks for your reply. My support worker gave me that advice. The gap between closing my ESA ( I informed them the day b4 i started the job) and opening my UC was less than a week. Isn't there anyway for me to appeal this and explain that I was given wrong advice?

Sadly there is nothing to challenge. The gap between the ESA and UC claims means that it now is as it is, as set out in the regulations.

Whether you wish to make a complaint to the organisation that employs your support worker is up to you.