LCWRA and ESA

MariaD
MariaD Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
in Universal Credit (UC)
Hello

Today I was awarded LCWRA.  I have been working 24 hours per week and tomorrow will hand in my notice. I already had been getting UC. Do I need to apply separately for ESA? 

I've tried doing the online calculators but I'm confused about the ESA. Do you get ESA and LCWRA together? 

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    Before handing in your notice i would advise you to get some expert advice because you could end up losing money from your employer by doing this. 

    There’s also SSP to consider claiming from your employer which they must pay for 28 weeks.

    You will have the work allowance now for UC so a certain amount of earnings received each month will be ignored before the 55% deductions apply. (If you didn’t previously have it)

    If you claim for help with the rent it will be £379/month, if you don’t it will be £631/month. 

    If you claim SSP you can’t claim New style ESA because they can’t both be paid at the same time. 

    If you claim New style ESA there’s no financial gain because it’s just deducted in full from your UC entitlement. Though, it’s still worth claiming it, providing you have the correct NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years. The ESA is not means tested like UC and you will also receive class 1 NI credits but for UC it’s only class 3. ESA is paid fortnightly but UC is paid monthly so that can help with budgeting too. 


  • MariaD
    MariaD Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
    Hi Poppy,

    Thank you for the great advice.  In wgat way would I end up losing money from my employer by handing in my notice? 

    So it would be better that I go off sick in work rather than hand my notice in? 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    You're welcome. That's something i can't answer i'm afraid because i'm no expert in employment. This is why i advised you to get some expert advice. Acas will be a good place to start. https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

    If you're entitled to SSP then yes, you should claim that first. As you now have the work allowance, you'll be able to keep more of those earnings (if you didn't previously have it) so it make sense to claim it. New style ESA is just deducted in full from your UC because it's classed as "other income"




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