UC: do I have to attend to sign?

1977BolanFan

Please can someone  help me I am claiming  universal  credit and have had sick notes to cover the last 12 weeks due to the holes in my spine closing up and causing me severe pain most days I can hardly walk but I still have to go and sign please can someone  tell me if this is right do I have to attend to sign 

thespiceman

Hello @1977BolanFan Pleased to meet you welcome.

Please can I say I do not know the answer to your question. I am sure a member of our community or a team will be in touch.

Not too sure regarding the complexities of Universal credit. Regarding sickness.

 All I know am sorry you are ill.

Might be worth contacting your local CAB or welfare rights for benefit information.

Have a look at our benefit advice for information and comments from members of our community.

I wanted to welcome you to the forum. Like your user name. Like Marc Bolan.

Remember coming home from school to watch the late afternoon programme he did on the TV.  Ground breaking.   Been a collector and dealer of buying and selling you meet music people. Those have worked with these greats.

Sad thing is I hear is all the group members of Trex have passed on I believe.

Know Marc Bolans sons does a tribute act to his father.

Great to meet you and talk to you.


@thespiceman

BenefitsTrainingCo

1977BolanFan,

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. Unfortunately the system is very dependent on the work coach you are assigned. I would start off by saying that you should have been sent to a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) by now. This is a medical which will give you a result, hopefully saying you don't have to look for work. If you need the WCA to be carried out at home, you should say so.

You should ask for a form called the UC50 which you have to fill out before the WCA. I'd make the point that you should have been referred to a WCA after 28 days of sickness - and you've been signed off for 12 weeks, so this is wrong.

You should insist that because of this, UC shouldn't make you sign on whilst you are waiting for the WCA. Many people are allowed to do something else during this time, eg just have a telephone chat once a week. Technically, during this time, it is up to your work coach to decide what you have to do and whether you have to look for work. I think it's unreasonable to make you do this, and it definitely sounds unreasonable to have to sign on or do anything else that requires you to walk when it is so painful.

I'd suggest that you explain all this to your work coach & if they don't agree to the following, you should ask to make a complaint:

 - sent you a UC50 form to fill out
 - refer you to a WCA (ask for it to be held at home if you need this)
 - suspend your work search requirements whilst waiting for the WCA & not require you to sign on or do anything other than keep in touch with the Jobcentre in a way which is accessible to you.

If this doesn't work then please get advice locally if you can (eg Citizens Advice), or try to get in touch with your local MP and tell them what's been going on for you. We need MPs to hear exactly how UC isn't working for disabled people. I hope that you'll be able to sort this out...I think your treatment is in breach of the Equality Act and as such it isn't 'right'. The problem is that after the first 14 days of sickness, the UC rules are not set up in a way which automatically suspends your work search whilst you are signed off.

Good luck - please let us know how you get on.

Will