Partner self employed I get PIP daily living, does he need a gateway interview?

tootiredforthis

Hi,

Slowly working our way through the system! Next on the list is my partner who is self employed, he has a gateway interview booked for Saturday.

Am I right to think that because I claim PIP daily living & he has been added as my carer (which I assume means we will get the carer element) he doesn’t need a gateway interview?
As far as I can tell if he has carer element & I claim PIP it means he can’t be found to be gainfully self employed so no meeting is needed.
I also think he should be exempt from Minimum income floor, have no more meetings & should be put into the NWRA (no work related activity group) from what I have read & there is no earnings threshold (although I don’t know if that applies to self employed people anyway!)

We also have a child & no housing costs so I think he should have a work allowance of £673 is that correct?

It’s so confusing when you have to find it all out and tell them when they should be telling you.

Hoping someone here might know about these things before I call the helpline,
thanks

poppy123456

As self employed a gateway interview is still needed but it should be very short. If found to be gainfully self employed he will have a 12 month start up period, which is given to everyone that's self employed and claiming UC for the first time, if found to be gainfully self employed. After those 12 months the Minimum Income Floor will not apply. He will still need to report earnings and expanses on the last day of each assessment period.

Yes, you have the higher work allowance of £673/month. For every £1 of earnings received above that amount there's a 55p deduction in your UC.

Have you reported your health condition and provided a fit note? If not then you need to make sure you do that.

Regarding the helpline, I would advise against ringing them for any advice because they are not benefits advisors. They are call centre staff with very little knowledge about benefits, other than to read from a screen. I can't tell you how many times I've heard of the truly awful advice they've given people.

tootiredforthis

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/887495#Comment_887495

thanks for the reply I think I might call the CAB UC helpline tomorrow. I’ve read so many different bits in different places.

They are aware of my health and have put me into LCWRA group becuase of contributions based ESA support group, we are migrating from tax credits. They also seem to have added the carer element, they have attached a letter to my journal saying that my partner is claiming a carer benefit for me and he can’t claim carers allowance so it must be that.

With those two things in place PIP enhanced daily living for me and UC carer element I have read that he should be exempt from MIF and put in no work related activity group as he can’t be found gainfully self employed if he is a carer.

Thanks again

poppy123456

Apologies for incorrect information. As a carer he can't be found to be gainfully self employed but a gateway interview is still required but as I advised, it should be very short. He would still need to report earnings and expenses on the last day of each AP. There's some information here. https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support/information-for-your-situation/self-employment-and-benefits/universal-credit-and-self-employment