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Work allowance and being a carer

jaisouls

Hello

So I am on a joint claim of UC with my partner.

We receive couple rate both over 25, housing element, child element, carer element (because my partner cares for me) and lcwra element (for me)

My partner also receives carers allowance caring for me. But this is deducted £ for £ as standard from UC.

He has started to help a friend out 1 day a week (not every week please note) for a few hours and brings home between £30-40. We have declared this every assessment period on our UC journal. We are being told he is now going to lose 55% of it from UC taking it back but he thought the work allowance of £404 a month meant he wasn’t affected. He’s been told he’s not allowed it because he’s a carer and so doesn’t need to look for work. What he earns isn’t enough to live on, its purely an extra amount for us to help out with extra costs of the fact I can’t work and to improve our quality of life a little as well as helping his mental health not that it should matter why. The lady on the phone even said it’s always better to be working if you can around your caring responsibilities rather than not.

But now we are being penalised it would seem. I can’t read anywhere regarding rules of work allowance that they don’t apply to you if your a carer despite the rules applying to us of housing costs included in UC, responsibilities of a child in the household and someone in the household receiving LCWRA. I know we are better off by 45% but it seems highly unfair still as it’s so low and also why can’t I find it anywhere? I don’t think they are right.

TIA x

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Comments

poppy123456

The work allowance applies to the claim and not the individual person. Being a carer makes no difference to entitlement to the work allowance. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Work-allowance-Universal-Credit

The person advising you is clearly wrong. I'd advise you to wait until you receive your statement and it should show on there with deductions. If earnings are up to £404/month there should be no deductions for earnings. It will be a case manage that would deal with your monthly statements.

jaisouls

ok Poppy thank you so much I didn’t think it seemed right! Hopefully on the next statment they haven’t decided to deduct 55%, if so I’m guessing a mandatory reconsideration will have to take place? They don’t have a time limit on them do they where they have to get back to you as that’s what I’ve been told previously when they have made errors so I really hope it doesn’t get to that!
x

poppy123456

I would expect the work allowance to be included. In all the years I’ve been advising I’ve never known the work allowance not to be included if it should be.

jaisouls

ok Poppy thank you. I will let you know ! If it’s going to happen to anyone no doubt it will be me the amount of errors since the new tax year started has been unreal. Seems aimed at disability and carer claimers, thought we had rights as a disabled person? :(

poppy123456

What errors has there been exactly?

jaisouls

over payment just finished paying it back. It works out for two weeks last year my partner had no carers allowance as they have had it back now in deductions to our UC. They are saying we were paid too much for one assessment period and we think it’s because that one assessment period falls into the start and end of the tax year plus we had Easter so got payments earlier. I’ve had some help to work it out from the very beginning of our claim, some months UC take less than what carers is received but then some months they take more than what carers we received but as the claim is on going the amounts back and fourth counteract themselves so neither party (UC or us) owe or are owed. Currently disputing this with a mandatory reconsideration which at first I was denied. I got told due to a “UC policy” you can’t argue overpayments. 4 weeks later I then randomly got an apology and the lady said she was told wrong. So after 2 months finally my consideration got put through and that’s only because I managed to locate the postal address for UC other than the one on the letters ( seems like gold dust they don’t want you to know it) in Canterbury so if you send there they can’t deny it!

Then suddenly my council want me to pay over double council tax compared to last year even though we are on the same benefits. Now we have extra money coming apparently in which transpired after 2 months of phoning them they mean carers allowance. So my partner now loses over half of his carers to council tax. But We have also been told it’s nothing to do with carers and instead they take the income into account from the standard couple rate and child rate so my son is expected to pay council tax out of his money he is 14. So I’ve been told two different reasons. So I’m now in an appeal about that too. I don’t know how the hell im going to deal with a tribunal!

And then After being told Friday about we aren’t allowed work allowance and partner only bringing home £30/£40 a week and not every week they now want to take 55p for every £1 for that too despite it being wrote everywhere about this work allowance so we feel very “picked on” at the moment and it all seems to be because my partner cares for me because of my health why we getting hit left right and centre.

Sorry to rant it’s been making me more ill all this stress of being lied to and told wrong and having money taken here and there. I really appreciate your help and advice and the fact you listen. This has been the only place I’ve found knowledge as well as understanding so big thank you it means a lot x

poppy123456

Uc has nothing to do with tax years because and entitlement is based on earnings received each assessment period.

Carers allowance is a weekly benefit and there’s 4.3 weeks in a month and not 4 weeks. UC is a monthly benefit. To work out the deduction of carers allowance for UC you times the weekly amount by 52 and then divide by 12. £81.90 x 52 divided by 12 = £354.90/month is what’s deducted from UC. Carers allowance 4 weekly amount is £327.60.

Many people forget that when claiming UC because it’s a monthly benefit you need to work out the monthly amount of a weekly benefit to get the correct figure for the deduction.

For carers allowance if you’re paid 4 weekly you would then receive 2 payments in a month once a year. The deduction would remain the same that month.

Your council tax, they would not be charging your 14 year old for anything because he’s a dependent child. For anything else as I advised on your other thread I can’t advise because all LAs have their own rules.