Will I lose LCWRA for asking about jobs and courses?

Icarus758

Roughly two years ago I have a severe mental episode that ended up with me being detained in hospital for a long period of time for my own safety and I lost my job. I was diagnosed with autism, PTSD, psychosis and possible schizophrenia.

During that time I was advised to apply for UC and PIP to help with treatment costs due to my complex issues

At the time I filled in a questionnaire and done a quick phone call and was awarded LCWRA. Since that time I have been given no updates on reassessment or anything since which is surprising as it's been over a year.

Recently I went into a jobs and benefits office and asked for any leaflets or courses etc for help with getting into employment and support with people with disabilities. The guy spoke to me like dirt after seeing I was on LCWRA and said "oh that must be a cushy life for you" When I briefly mentioned the fact I will most likely have dementia by the time I'm 50 due to the extreme amount of tablets I take and the fact my psychotic beliefs make it so I can't sleep for 4 days at a time and get heart murmurs due to this he just smiled and said they have no leaflets.

He kept saying "oh don't worry i messaged my boss and I'll make sure she has a look at your account and message you" in a very sarcastic way and with slight malice so I am worried now.

What is the likelihood they will reassess me now? I probably should have been reassessed anyway so this I would imagine will definitely cause them to do it now right?

I am kicking myself for going in and not just using 3rd party groups to help me with employment, it's barbaric how you actually get punished for wanting to work, I wish I didn't have these issues and could work like everyone else instead of sitting at home deteriorating day by day with my issues

Thanks for reading

chiarieds

Hi @Icarus758 - & welcome to the forum. I'm so very sorry that you were spoken to in that way. Please don't worry, the LCWRA element you receive will continue as this is ongoing until any future assessment.

You can certainly work & claim LCWRA, & I think it's great you're looking into this, so don't let that nasty person put you off.

You can work any amount of hours you'd like & earn up to £411 a month if you get help with your housing, & up to £684 a month if you don't, as you have what's called a 'work allowance' before there'd be any deductions to your UC. For every £1 over these amounts there'd be a 55p deduction from your UC. More detail here: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-your-wages-affect-your-payments

You may also get more friendly help from Scope's 'Support to Work' team, with other helpful info on this page: https://www.scope.org.uk/employment-services

Kindly let us all know how you get on.

Albus_Scope

Heya @Icarus758 I can see you've already received some top advice, but I just wanted to stop in and say welcome to the community and to please try not to worry and I'm sorry you had to deal with such a nasty piece of work at the job centre.

Amazonianup

These people need to held accountable so many arent. I used to go to food bank and this is so common people are afraid of these bullies. People that want to work part-time or volunteer are petrified of these people because they will screw with them or they already have done and so they are at the food bank. They take part in the process of what happens. Dont let this guy potentially ruin your life or someone else and report him.