WCA + UC

hyancinth

A new coach has been engaging with me since June. Shes one of the newly appointed ones, they are very keen arent they. Before this there was no contact since around September 2019. Just the odd auto message. I dont know why. My new coach told me thy have no record of a wca, that in november  my claim was closed and here they are ready and waiting to get me a job. I said surely Im due a reassessment? your claim doesnt just end?  they said theyd ask their colleague who works in the wca and get back to me. Isnt that great, thats how its done, a phone call to discuss me on their say so. I kept quiet and took advice. I liased with that advice. Tearing my hair out in the meantime as I absolutely cannot handle any stressful thing. I got someone to speak for me. I also made a call to ESA and....they told me the start and end date of my wca award and its classification,  I didnt need to explain anything I expressed that Im clearing up a misunderstanding. She was forthcoming and helpful. My esa ran out, hence uc payments. The credits are still being paid. the wca decision was that september 2019. The wca award runs until spring 2025! How can the dwp have no knowledge? why did she say all that? and who else have they done this to? I couldnt handle them by myself, I suggest any one facing same/ similar seeks advice and gets a spokesperson. 

poppy123456

HI,

If your ESA is a credits only claim this i'm assuming you were claiming New style ESA and after your work capability assessment you were placed into the WRAG, for this group payments are only made for 1 year and then they stop.

A UC claim doesn't usually close unless earnings reduce your UC to zero. Are you claiming UC with a partner that works? Do you work? Sorry for the questions but just need a little more information before anyone can help.

calcotti

hyancinth said:

..My new coach told me thy have no record of a wca, that in november  my claim was closed and here they are ready and waiting to get me a job. ..

This reads as if your UC claim closed or do you just mean that they said your WCA determination of LCW ended? If the latter that is incorrect because a WCA determination doesn't end until a new assessment is carried out and a new determination made.

As I understand it you claimed new style ESA and then UC. You had a determination of LCW in September 2019, the new style ESA has ended (after 12 months) but the UC is ongoing.

The reason there has been no contact since September 2019 is because of the LCW determination at that time.

hyancinth

Pappy: my claim never ended, the uc is ongoing, the work coach has no idea what id going on wca end. Its like she either lied..trying to pull a fast one or there is no information from wca attached to my claim. However that is not true. No I dont work, no I dont have  a partner.
Calcotti: Correct in relation to 2nd paragraph. and... here was no contact since sept 2019 that is until june..when this new work coach (I say keen but you know what I mean) has come on the scene, this is the one that says there is no not anywhere of a wca being carried out (which is incorrect, completely) and obviously as they are worryingly incorrect has automatically made me distrustful of them.

Basically. theres something not right here. 

Id also like to know just how much of my medical information are they entitled to know? I opted out of sharing my data with the world, why do i have to update a civil servant every month? 

How do I stop these interviews, I cant get out of bed or be around people I know or do anything of interest. Im waiting for appointments. Reporting  back to a govt worker is not helping, might be ticking boxes there end but not mine.

poppy123456

You were placed into the WRAG for ESA because your claim ended after 1 year,  which is LCW for UC.. I have no idea why there's no information about this on your journal, unless you were assessed with ESA when you claimed that and your award didn't transfer to UC.

When you're in this group you're expected to prepare to work sometime in the future, which can include appointments with your work coach. These appointments can be through telephone, if you're unable to go to the job centre for them. You've been lucky up top now not having any appointments since 2019, although we have been in a pandemic for the past 18 month and for most of that time no one has had any appointments with work coaches.

If you think you should be in the LCWRA group (where no work requirements or interviews are needed) then you can report a change of circumstances on your journal and this will prompt a referral for another work capability assessment. You will be sent another UC50 form to fill in and return with all your evidence to support your claim.

With regards to medical information, for the work capability assesment process then they need to know how your conditions affect you, otherwise you could be found fit nor work. You don't have to agree to the contacting any medical professional, although it's rare they do this. The onus is always on the claimant to prove they qualify.