husband cannot work now, and now have to apply for UC

lily01

hi my husband had a bleed on the brain 5 weeks ago he’s doing fine now except short term memory loss at times and slight balance issues! We have had to claim UC benefits as he can’t work yet? I have to be with him all time can jobcentre make me look for work ????

Jimm_Alumni

Hi @lily01, welcome to the Scope community 🙂 I'm sorry to hear about your husband, though it's good to hear he is doing well.

Vikki does bring up something important. Do you receive any benefits currently? Do you also have an impairment that means you cannot work?

Hopefully we can help you understand the process a little better! You can read more about Universal Credit on our advice pages too.

I'll move this over to our Universal Credit category

poppy123456

I see you're already claiming Universal Credit. If your husband isn't currently claiming any disability benefits such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care then you will not be able to claim Carers element of UC. This means that you will be treated as a job seeker. You can speak to your work coach and tell them about your husband and they may reduce your commitments.

Has your husband reported his health condition for UC and provided a fit note? If not then I'd advise him to do that. This will start the work capability assessment process off. You can see more information here. He will need to make sure he continues to provide the fit note without any gaps until a decision is made, which can take several months.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition

To be able to claim a disability benefit such as PIP (if he's not already claiming it) you need to have had the difficulties for at least 3 months and expect them to last at least a further 9 months.

Are you claiming council Tax reduction from your local Authority? If not then please make sure you claim that.