LCWRA - Confused over dates and lack of info

mikeyb922

Hi Everyone,

I am hoping someone can help me understand what this all means and whether I have the right idea 

So I have had my letter through confirming the award of LCWRA but there is very little stated other than that 

date wise this is whats happened.

I went on UC in April 2021 after being made redundant due to ill health and I declared this at the point of application along with full details of my health condition. I have been working self employed during this time working a few hours a day.

I was told in February 2023 to have my doctor confirm that I was not fit for work via a MED3 report which duly did and have have back to back notes since then and still active to the end of this month.

Would I be correct in thinking that the below will be the case?

My AP for UC is 20-21 with payment date 27.

first med3 was submitted 28 Feb so that would discount the Feb/Mar AP for the purpose of waiting periods?

Month 1 Mar/Apr
Month 2 Apr/May
Month 3 May/Jun

so would that mean a back payment of Jun/Jul, Jul/Aug, Aug/Sep, Sep/Oct?

And it would come as Sep/Oct in this run and the back payment would come later as a separate transaction?

This is how I have read it from looking at the responses to previous enquires on the same topic so hoping I have got it right.

Appreciate any advice / feedback.

poppy123456

Your waiting period will be March to June.. LCWRA starts from AP 21st June to 20 July and first payment will be 27th July. This means they owe you 3 LCWRA payments...July to Sept. This is because it's paid from the 4th month, with payment at the end of that 4th month because UC is paid 1 month in arrears.

Money owed will be paid separately and often takes quite a few weeks to pay it. If you didn't previously have the work allowance and you or a partner were receiving earnings since you provided your first fit note then you'll be owe extra money for this.

You need to check your next statement to make sure this months LCWRA element is included. 

Was there any reason why you waited almost 2 years before providing a fit note? Please note, that if your earnings were more than 16xNMW per week at the time then you wouldn't have been able to be referred for a WCA unless you were claiming a disability benefit such as PIP or DLA.

mikeyb922

Hi Poppy,

Thank you for clarifying makes sense - I did read a lot of your responses to other posts to try and understand it and got almost there.

With regards to the waiting when I explained the illness to my work coach they never asked for anything at the time it was only after my condition has worsened that they said to provide the doctors note and to process the WCA application.

I believe the reason was due to me being self employed there is a grace period on the earning side of things that meant I wasn't put under a minimum income requirement for 2 years whilst building a business as the notes were requested towards the end of that period - thats what I think is the case but not 100% sure to be honest.

I wasn't even aware that of the WCA process before it all began to be honest so wouldn't have even thought to have asked about it.

poppy123456

You're welcome. When you first claim UC if you're self employed then you'll have a 12 month start up period which means the Minimum Income Floor will not apply in this time if you're gainfully self employed.

When you first reported your health condition, if you did this through your journal at the start of your claim then it should have then prompted you to provide a fit note. As i advised above, if your earnings were more than 16 x NMW/week then you wouldn't have been able to be referred for a work capability assessment unless you were claiming a disability benefit.