Claiming lwcra and UC

ap123321

Hi there,
I wanted to ask if anyone has advice on whether I am allowed to be on lwcra and UC if I have started a limited company and I am the director of it. I am making very little money from it in these first few months but I wanted to check if I have to declare this to the UC people. (Any money coming in is in the limited company account not my personal one).
If I do will it affect my benefits?

thanks in advance

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @ap123321

LCWRA is for when you make a claim for Universal Credit with a health condition or disability. According to the GOV website:

If you start work or are already in employment your Universal Credit payment will reduce gradually as your earn more. For every £1 you earn your payment will reduce by 55p.
You can still work if you feel able to, even if you’re told that you have limited capability for work or need to prepare for work in the future. You can earn up to a certain amount without it affecting the amount of Universal Credit you get. This is called a ‘work allowance’.

I would encourage you to reach out to your coach on your Universal Credit journal for more clarity  

ap123321

Thanks for the sdvice Hannah 

ap123321

Advice*

poppy123456

For the LCWRA then you first need to go through the work capability assessment. To start this process off you need to report your health condition and provide a fit note within 7 days of that. You must continue to send the fit notes without gaps until a decision is made on your work capability assessment. 

Once you are referred you will be sent the UC50 form to fill in and return with all your information and any additional evidence you have to support your claim. 

 Please note.. if your earnings are more than 16xNMW/week you will not be able to be referred for a work capability assessment unless you're claiming a disability benefit such as PIP/ADP or DLA.

ap123321 said:

 I am making very little money from it in these first few months but I wanted to check if I have to declare this to the UC people. (Any money coming in is in the limited company account not my personal one).
If I do will it affect my benefits?

Yes, you absolutely have to report working because not doing so could be seen as benefit fraud. As a limited company you will be treated as self employed. You need to report a change of circumstances and tell them you are self employed as a limited company. You will need to attend your local Job centre for a gateway appointment with a work coach. During this appointment you will need to tell them about your self employed work. If found to be gainfully self employed you will need to report your earnings and expenses on your journal on the last day of each assessment period. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-self-employment-quick-guide/universal-credit-and-self-employment-quick-guide

May I ask how long you've been claiming UC for? Do they know that you've been working? If they don't know then you may potentially have an overpayment. You will be asked to report all your earnings and expenses for every month that you've been claiming UC, if you've been self employed for all that time. 

Any earnings you've received will reduce your UC by 55% if you don't currently have the work allowance.