General questions about LCWRA, ESA and working

SDW

Hi, Can someone please help me?  I feel totally confused whenever I try to look up anything online around this.

I am unemployed and was awarded LCWRA in April this year and my payments for it were backdated to Feb / March.  I originally applied for it last year.

I am trying to understand what happens if I start working.  Questions like,

- Can I work and still receive the LCWRA payment?  I saw somewhere that said if you are awarded ESA, you can earn £167 per week without it affecting your payment and you cannot work over 16 hours.  Is this true?

- Is it ESA that I am receiving as extra benefit for LCWRA (on top of the normal UC unemployment benefit + housing benefit)?  Or is it something else? 

- On the gov.uk site, it talks about "Permitted work" if you're receiving ESA and that you have to fill in a "permitted work PW1 form" to do work and still receive your ESA benefit.  Is this true?

I get confused when I look all this up online because I get the impression that some things are old benefits that are being phased out and replaced, and that it might apply to some people but not others because of this.  Or maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Sorry for a long post, I really would appreciate someone who knows how all this works explaining it to me.  Thanks.

poppy123456

Seems like you're a little condused here. You mention LCWRA this is part of UC and is completely different to ESA.

If it's UC you're claiming then permitted work rules do not apply. They only apply to ESA.

If it's UC that you're claiming then you will only be claiming housing benefit if you're living in either supported or temporary housing. Otherwise your rent will be covered with UC known as housing element. Housing element and housing benefit are two completely different things.

For UC there's no maximum amount of hours or earnings. You will have the work allowance. This means you can receive a certain amount of UC each assessment period before any deductions apply. If you claim for help your rent then your work allowance will be £379/month, if you don't it will be £631/month. For every £1 of earnings you receive over that amount then your UC will reduce by 55p. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-work-allowances/universal-credit-work-allowances

If you start working you must report a change of circumstances on your journal and tell them that you're working. Do be aware that if the work you do contradicts the reasons why you're claiming LCWRA then it could go against you when you're next reviewed.

chiarieds

Hi @SDW - & welcome to the community. Universal Credit (UC) is replacing some older benefits over time, but LCWRA is a part/element of UC. The info you've found about new style ESA is correct as far as working goes, but not relevant to a UC claimant (unless claiming both benefits).

As you will see you can work more than 16 hours with UC, but any earnings you, or any partner may make may be reduced if you go over certain limits (the work allowance which depends on whether you're getting any help with your housing costs, or not). Anything over these different limits will reduce your UC by 55p for each £1 over this.Please see: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-your-earnings-affect-your-payments

SDW

Thank you for the very fast reply!  Yes, I am, I am totally confused when it comes to all this.

So LCWRA is completely different to ESA.  I assumed that I was getting ESA because it's for "if you cannot work because of illness or disability" which isn't that also what LCWRA is for?  I am receiving LCWRA because I cannot work because of health problems.  It seems odd to me that there's more than one benefit for this.

It is UC that I'm claiming and you're right, it is housing element of UC not housing benefit. 

Regarding the work allowance:  I receive £368.74 standard allowance and then on top of that the payment of £390 per month for LCWRA.

I'm sorry but I don't understand how the work allowance works.

-If I earn £370 a month, do I keep that and the UC people remove my standard allowance payment of £368, so that my overall income remains the same?  Do they cancel each other out?

-Or, do I get the £370 per month and still keep my £368.74 standard allowance payment?  So I'd be gaining an extra £370.

-And also, how does the £390 per month for LCWRA factor into that?  Is that in addition to the work allowance?

poppy123456

ESA is a completely different benefit. UC has replaced all the old benefits such as Income Related ESA, JSA, Income Support, Tax credits and housing benefit.

It is still possible to claim New style ESA if you've worked and paid the correct NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years.

UC can be claimed by those that are working on low income and those that are unable to work because of a health condition, like yourself. It is one benefit made up of many different elements.

LCWRA is because you're unable to work or do any work related activity because of your health conditions. For ESA purposes it is known as "Support Group"

If you work and receive earnings of £370/month then you'll keep the whole of your UC, which will include standard allowance, LCWRA and housing element. Therefore you will be £370/month better off.

If your earnings were £500/month then £121 of that would be used to reduce your UC by 55% and the calculation would be as follows... £121 x 0.55 = £66.55, so your UC would reduce by that amount. Earnings over the work allowance would reduce your whole UC and not just part of it. This is because it's one benefit, of many different elements.

The £390.06 is because you've been found to have LCWRA so it's extra money because of your health condition.

SDW

Thank you, I really appreciate your answers.  They're really helpful.

I just have a query about re-assessment for LCWRA.

- I've heard that re-assessment can be at any time but is often annually.  I had my assessment in April this year and within a few days received notification of my award.  But before this I'd waited for my assesment for about 5 months.  My question is, if re-assessment happens annually in my case, will it be in April next year, or will it be a year on from when I submitted my original form in December?

poppy123456

I don't often hear of anyone having reviews annually. LCWRA is an ongoing award until a new decision says otherwise. They were suspended since the first lockdown. They did start back a couple of months ago for some people because work coaches were told they had to refer some for reviews by 15th July. They are now suspended again until at least the end of the year. Once they do start back up properly there will likely be backlogs.

When it's time for your review you will know because you will receive a letter on your journal telling you, you are being referred. You will then receive the UC50 form in the post shortly after that.

It would be impossible for anyone to predict when your next review will be.