Migration to UC and interview with work coach

mandiub40

Hi

First of all hope everybody is coping in this hot spell?

I migrated from ESA (support group) to UC. Its been testing as they say. I had to wait for someone to come out to me to identify me. I could have downloaded all of the things I showed but hey ho it was eventually sorted. Then I had a letter from UC to say that I had to get in contact with DWP ESA to tell them I had moved over to UC. I spent five and a half hours on hold! I then wrote in my journal that I could not get in touch and they replied that I did not need to phone!!! and it would all be sorted. Since then they have underpaid me ,then overpaid me .Again thats all sorted .I have now received a letter to say I have a telephone appointment with a work coach to continue getting new style ESA. It does say it will not include any work related activities. So could someone please tell me what happens.

I really dont understand why we had to make claims , ESA and UC are all DWP .Surely it could have been done by just transferring everything over .

Anyway thank you inn advance for any replies

Ranald

The phone call will just be for you to accept your commitments, which are just to report any change of circumstances in your journal.

As legacy ESA is ending, I imagine applying for UC is treated as a new claim.

mandiub40

@Ranald many thanks

OverlyAnxious

They are completely different benefits, managed by different teams, despite both being covered by the DWP.

However, I do believe the migrations could have been done much more smoothly than they were, and still are. I was part of an initial trial group and hoped they'd learnt some lessons from the trial. But, a year on, it still doesn't seem like they did, and as there are a only a few months of migrations left, it's not going to improve now. Just have to try and make the best of a bad system until IR ESA ends altogether.

Passerby

Transfering all claimants on ESA on to the UC would have been transfering them by force, as a good number of ESA claimants have opted out migrating and claiming the UC. Therefore, it's made optional and not obligatory.