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Hi, my name is Woodie71! I have a question regarding LCWRA backdated payments

Woodie71

I have recently been awarded LCWRA after successfully challenging the DWP at a tribunal. I have a question regarding the backdated payments. DWP has told me the following:

LCWRA Awarded from 4th May - 3rd June 2022 which is correct.

But they say my backdated payments start from 4th September 2022. That cannot be right surely?

Even factoring in this 3-month rule, surely, my backdated payments should start from 4th August 2022? Or am I missing something???

Based on the DWP calculations, that is 4 months.

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poppy123456

What date exactly did you report your health condition/send your first fit note?

Woodie71

4th April 2022

Adrian_Scope

Hello @Woodie71 and a warm welcome to the community.

If you sent your first fit note on 4th April they would usually go from that date. Have they said why it's from 4th May?

If your assessment periods run 4th-3rd, they would normally calculate it like this:

4th April to 3rd May - first assessment period
4th May to 3rd June - second assessment period
4th June to 3rd July - third assessment period
4th July to 3rd August - LCWRA payment owed (paid on 10th August 2022)

poppy123456

Woodie71 said:

4th April 2022

Was that the actual date you reported it or was that the date on the fit note and you didn't report it until a later date? I've seen many members doing this and they think that it starts from the date on the fit note, when that's not correct.

Woodie71

Thanks, @Adrian_Scope That is what I think.

Here is the DWP latest response to me:

I do understand your confusion regarding this.  This is why I've labelled it out as such to help you better see the scheduling regarding your first payment of LCWRA.

In Universal Credit, the policy is that when a claimant first receives their LCWRA entitlement, the first assessment period isn't considered as this is when the LCWRA entitlement was first processed/actioned and thus isn't counted.

This means the first assessment period/month begins after the initial processing month, so the first month/assessment period would be 4th June - 3rd July 2022.

Followed on by the second and third month/assessment period, which is 4th July - 3rd August 2022 and 4th August - 3rd September 2022.

After the 'three' months have passed, you then receive the start of your LCWRA entitlement which would be in the assessment period of 4th September - 3rd October 2022.

I know this may seem confusing, but this is how LCWRA is calculated on Universal Credit with it's polices and regulations.

I hope this explains things better for you.

Kind regards

Woodie71

My initial fit note was dated from 4th April 2022 and submitted by me to DWP via my Journal on the same day.

I've questioned DWP.

This was their latest reply to me:

I do understand your confusion regarding this.  This is why I've labelled it out as such to help you better see the scheduling regarding your first payment of LCWRA.

In Universal Credit, the policy is that when a claimant first receives their LCWRA entitlement, the first assessment period isn't considered as this is when the LCWRA entitlement was first processed/actioned and thus isn't counted.

This means the first assessment period/month begins after the initial processing month, so the first month/assessment period would be 4th June - 3rd July 2022.

Followed on by the second and third month/assessment period, which is 4th July - 3rd August 2022 and 4th August - 3rd September 2022.

After the 'three' months have passed, you then receive the start of your LCWRA entitlement which would be in the assessment period of 4th September - 3rd October 2022.

I know this may seem confusing, but this is how LCWRA is calculated on Universal Credit with it's polices and regulations.

I hope this explains things better for you.

Kind regards

Woodie71

Hi @Adrian_Scope This was the initial response I received from DWP when I queried the matter:

From what I can see on your claim regarding your award of LCWRA, they have awarded this from May 2022.  I have further explained this below for you.

AP 4th May to 3rd June 2022 – LCWRA awarded
AP 4th June to 3rd July 2022 – Month 1
AP 4th July to 3rd August 2022 – Month 2
AP 4th August to 3rd September 2022 – Month 3
AP 4th September to 3rd October 2022 LCWRA included in statement

I hope this information helps, also happy to hear you finally got your award of LCWRA.  

Kind regards

Adrian_Scope

That's an interesting response from UC and doesn't fit with my understanding of the relevant period. It is a bit wordy but you can read about the relevant period (3 month wait period) on the Universal Credit ADM or on the deposited paper Limited Capability for work and work related requirements.

For a lot of people it works out the way they have said as the first assessment period isn't usually a full one (where peope report their fit note part-way through a month for example).
However, assuming your assessment period runs 4th - 3rd, it's my understanding that the 4th April to 3rd May assessment period should be included as it is a full assessment period.

If you're unhappy with a decision by UC you could ask for them to refer it to a decision maker or look at it again.

poppy123456

Well, I’ve heard some odd responses for why they haven’t started the waiting period correctly but I’ve never heard this one before. Its totally incorrect of course.

What really annoys me is that UC was introduced 10 years ago and they still don’t know their own rules! Unbelievable!

I agree with Adrian you can request the MR on the decision not to start your waiting period from 4th April to 3rd May.

Woodie71

I will go back to them and ask for the Decision Maker to look at the decision on the start date as even the Tribunal Judge said my backdated payments would start from 4th August 2022 and that seems logical to me.

L_Volunteer

Have you received a response about this yet @Woodie71? If so, I am just wondering if you would like to share a little more with us about how this has gone for you and if there's anything we can do to help you

Woodie71

Yes, I have received several responses. I have asked the Decision Maker at DWP to look at the decision again as to the correct start date for my backdated payments. I have not had a response yet.