New UC claim

BrutonStreetTailor

Hi, ive been getting New style ESA for almost 2 months now, Ive just been awarded the enhanced amount following my paper based and 2 phone assessments as limited capacity for work and work related activity, however my years contractural sick pay from my employer has just ended as i got a years full sick pay from them 9 I have been off all year) , i have a couple of questions. I am due 1 more payday from my firm at the end of December, it will be about 14 days pay, but, it might be a lot more as they have said i am owed a further 29 days holiday pay which i have accrued this year whilst off sick for the full year, which will add up to a considerable amount. The only thing is, those extra holidays may not be paid until January now as it may be too late for them to include in Decembers pay, They are meeting with me in January to possibly dismiss me after being with them for 38 years due to my physical disability and inability to do my job or any job. shall i start my UC claim now and submit it after i see what amount I get at the end of December, Or wait until the end of January ? Im concerned about waiting as Ive heard the UC payments are getting reduced by half for claimants being awarded after next April. Though if ive read the website advice correctly, when my UC claim is accepted, If I get the owed holiday pay in January, my UC claim will still count- though I may not receive any benefit that month, but it will automatically start the following month ? also. is it correct that my New style ESA will cease ? ive read it will reduce my amount of UC ? so If i do it too early I may lose out on ESA payments. Im worried if I claim UC and lose the New Style ESA then i will be worse off than I am now? Another thing is I got back payments of new style ESA, which i still have in my current account, Do, or can I deduct that amount when i submit to them the details of how much capital i have in my accounts, or do they count that as part of my savings ? which are below 16k and will drop rapidly when i no longer have an income from work as I have direct debits of over £1100.00 a month now, regards. Paul.

Kimi87

Are you able to edit or re post in paragraphs?

It's very difficult to read.

BrutonStreetTailor

Sorry, I realise there were a number of questions after a brief description of my position. there so ive broken it up to try and make it easier to follow.

Hi, ive been getting New style ESA for almost 2 months now, Ive just been awarded the enhanced amount following my paper based and 2 phone assessments as limited capacity for work and work related activity, however my years contractural sick pay from my employer has just ended as i got a years full sick pay from them as I have been off all year).

 I am due 1 more payday from my firm at the end of December, it will be about 14 days pay, but, it might be a lot more as they have said i am owed a further 29 days holiday pay which i have accrued this year whilst off sick for the full year, which will add up to a considerable amount. The only thing is, those extra holidays may not be paid until January now as it may be too late for them to include in Decembers pay.

So what i want to know is, Shall i start my UC claim now and submit it after i see what amount I get at the end of December, Or wait until the end of January in case my firm pays me my owed holiday pay then ? Im concerned about waiting as Ive heard the UC payments are getting reduced by half for claimants being awarded after next April.

Is it correct that my New style ESA will cease as soon as i get my award for UC ? ive read it will reduce my amount of UC ? so If i do it too early I may lose out on ESA payments now. Im worried if I claim UC and lose the New Style ESA then i will be worse off than I am now? Another thing is I got back payments of new style ESA, which i still have in my current account.

When i submit to them the details of how much capital i have in my accounts, do the backdated lump sum of ESA I received count as part of my savings ? which are below 16k and will drop rapidly when i no longer have an income from work as I have direct debits of over £1100.00 a month now, i hope this is more understandable, regards. Paul.

chiarieds

Hi @BrutonStreetTailor - it seems like you've been placed in the 'Support Group' with your recent ESA claim. You can check if this is the case if you get £281.10 each fortnight.

If you claim UC, then you should be put into the equivalent for this support group, & be paid the LCWRA element, or part, of UC.

It does seem confusing, but your New Style ESA claim continues to be paid every fortnight, tho it's deducted in full from UC. As UC is paid monthly, you'd see a deduction of £609.05 a month of your ESA; you get it, but it's deducted from the amount you receive with UC. The £609.05 amount a month is worked out by dividing this £281.10 by 2, then multiply this weekly amount by 52, & dividing by 12.

When you initiate a claim for UC, all of your savings & monies are counted, whether in banks, building societies, etc. As you know, this applies to both you & your wife, as this will be a joint claim. There's some info here as to how these impact with a UC claim: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

If you knew the amount of monies you'd receive from your former employer, then that would help. Perhaps you can however do a 'guesstimate,' putting in what you think here in the Turn2Us benefits calculator: https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/?_ga=2.33325438.1782402900.1733732365-1147812920.1718708676

If you have over £16k 'savings' between you, then you can't claim UC.

This might possibly be relevant with a potential UC claim - if your wife provides care for you (at least 35 hours a week) & you are in receipt of either rate of the PIP daily living component, then you may be eligible for the Carer's element of UC, which is an additional amount you may be able to receive of just over £200 a month. This is mentioned in the first link I gave above.

Sorry, I feel you already know a lot of this, but 'hope' some of this may have helped a little.

Please come back if you have other questions, Paul.

Trevor_PIP

@BrutonStreetTailor thought it worth mentioning with 38 years of service, if the company give you early retirement due to ill health and you take your pension that normally comes with lump sum, that will cancel out UC and affect what you get from NS ESA. I can't comment any further as no experience of the benefits you are claiming, but the reduction by a half for LCWRA after April 26, which you mention, affects only new claimants after that date. You have already been awarded it.

chiarieds

They are asking if they should start a UC claim, not said they are in receipt of UC?

Trevor_PIP

Point, but I thought it best to mention what I have as the OP is worried about the extra pay due from the company and if he should start his claim. Throw the pension in and you are in a pickle.

BrutonStreetTailor

Hi, Thank You for your time in replying, so firstly, I have a pip claim that has been submitted since September, but as of today all I have received is a text saying they have my claim and are reviewing it and I do not need to do any more, however, i have rung both the helpline and the 3rd party contractor that is reviewing my claim, and they were not very helpful at all, they have no idea when my assessment will be, in fact they "know nothing and thats just the procedure" They couldnt even tell me what month next year I could expect it.

I am aware of the carers allowance, at the moment, as I am only in receipt of New style ESA, that will have to wait.

I am aware of the disqualification of entitlement to start a claim for UC, should my savings rise above 16k. but there is no danger of that, i am also aware that any claim I make will Include that of my wife, who works part time, for just 10 hours a week, so she pays no tax or Ni on her earnings.

My savings, will be above 6k at the time I receive my final pay, though I have a credit card debt of around 3k so I understand I can reduce that to £0.00 to "reduce" my total savings amount. I have no intention, unless i am forced to, to take my companies pension, I may add. Im thinking medical retirement and length of service award, should I leave, possibly would take my savings to over 16k, but as i believe my condition to be caused by my work - over time, i am going to ask them to keep me " employed" by them, but with no expectation of salary, in case any surgery is possible next year to restore my health and return to work (however unlikely). Im not sure what their response will be, they are finding options for me and will advise in January.

Will the backdated ESA monies count as part of my savings, as that is around 2K on its own ?. Also, I read that there is a "work allowance" with UC that one can earn before any deductions, I myself am unable to work, so will this apply to my wifes income for the calculation, - her earnings are under £500 a month.

so to summarise, if I understand correctly as I cannot survive financially on New style Esa, I can safely wait until I am paid all monies from my company, whether that will be December, or January, as I think you are saying I have already had my capability for work assessments and been accepted and awarded lcwra , so I dont have to worry about any changes in April, I have automatically been accepted by the criteria for Uc by the checks already been done on me, its just a case of me creating the account and submitting a claim for UC and the DWP working out the value of any award the make.

Sorry for so many questions, this is a right mess, as well as dealing with my physical disabilities, I do not know what to do for the best, as all these potential decisions appear to have impacts on everything else. kind regards.