My wife isn't capable of working full time, but has been told she must find a job. Any advice?

Nezzer1968

Hi, my wife is on high level pip and I claim carers allowance.
She currently works 7 hours per week of which I assist her in.
We claim Universal credit and they have just moved her onto the four week rule that she must find a job full time or face sanctions.
At the initial Universal credit interview we were told ESA no longer exists.
What should we do as she is not capable of working full time due to her numerous health conditions? 
Regards
Neil.

Alex_Alumni

Hello @Nezzer1968 and welcome to the forum. Thanks for reaching out with your question. I've tagged your post as unanswered so that our members can advise you. Can I ask, who told you that ESA no longer exists?

If anything comes up in the meantime, please don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

Alex

Nezzer1968

The work coach at the job centre, we were told UC had replaced all old benifits.
 
Thanks for the reply 

Alex_Alumni

Thanks for explaining @Nezzer1968 that's very helpful

Can you tell me if you or your wife have talked with the work coach about a work capability assessment? You can read more about that on the Scope website here. 

You can also read more about Universal Credit here, hopefully that will help with getting to grips with things.

The Gov.uk website also outlines things clearly:

Universal Credit is replacing the following benefits:

• Child Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Working Tax Credit

Do let me know if there's anything specific you'd like help with, or are unsure about.

janer1967

Hi there 

You should report her medical condition as a change in circumstances and provide fit notes 

This will prompt the work capability process and a decision will be made on if she is fit for work if found not fit she won't be subject to work commitments 

The process is similar to pip process as in a form then an assessment bit he aware the process is taking up to 10 months 

New style esa is only available to those who have paid the required ni contributions in the 2 0rev tax years.  So if she has only worked 7 hours likely she would not be eligible 

If you do the work capability process and she is awarded lcwra there is additional payment of uc of £343 per month 

poppy123456

You can find some information regarding the work capability assessment here. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition

Nezzer1968

Thanks for the replies, her contributions won't meet the criteria but the gov website states there are no minimum hours of work required if your classed as a disabled worker or care for a disabled. Is anyone aware if that's the case and that she is being mislead by the work coach.

janer1967

That is correct there 8s no work requirement like I quoted above bit to be classed as disabled worker for uc she needs to go through the process as above 

Getting pip doesn't count as seperate benefit with different criteria and lots 9f people who claim pip work 

poppy123456

As advised, she will need to report a health condition under "report a change" then get a fit note from her GP. About 29 days after this she should be referred for the work capability assessment. Unless she's found to have either LCW or LCWRA then she could be expected to look for more work.

calcotti

You have no work requirements because you care for her.

She is not a carer and is treated as a JobSeeker unless she is found to have Limited Capability for Work. To do this she has to have a Work Capability Assessment as described by previous posters.

From your opening post it sounds as if you raised her health issues early on in the UC claim and the Work Coach should have informed her about the possibility of providing fit notes and being assessed. If I've understood that correctly you may wish to raise a complaint.

Poli80

Hi @Nezzer1968

Not sure where this work coach taken the info about ESA not existing from.

There are 3 types of ESA

* New Style ESA
* Contribution based ESA
* Income Related ESA

And ESA is included in the UC, PIP is not .

The New Style and Contribution based ESA you have to have paid NI contributions , but not for Income related which I presume your wife is entitled to. And as mentioned above raise this matter with said work coach , but I'd get a witness for it and if he/she doesn't help make a formal complaint. I get they have had introduced new rules about the 4 weeks dead line, but they still should be helpful towards everyone and their specific needs. Ask them for work capability assessment and get sick notes for your wife asap from your gp , you can get them backdated too if needed. hope this helps a little. 

poppy123456

Poli80 said:

Hi @Nezzer1968

Not sure where this work coach taken the info about ESA not existing from.

There are 3 types of ESA

* New Style ESA
* Contribution based ESA
* Income Related ESA


The New Style and Contribution based ESA you have to have paid NI contributions , but not for Income related which I presume your wife is entitled to. 

That’s is not correct. As previously advised it is no longer possible to claim the old income related ESA. UC has replaced it.

calcotti

Nor is is it possibility to claim contribution based ESA because it has been replaced by new style ESA.

Nor is ESA included within UC. They are different albeit the Work Capability Assessment for both is the same.

Existing claimants of contribution based or income based ESA will continue to receive it until required to change to UC.

So yes three types of ESA exist but that is irrelevant for new claimants.

poppy123456

Not sure why a witness would be needed either.

Tori_Scope

I'm sorry to hear about this situation @Nezzer1968, as I can imagine it'd be quite distressing for you both. Have the above replies helped, in terms of understanding how to seek a work capability assessment? Please do let us know if there's anything you're still unclear on.

I also hope that the replies have helped you to understand this a bit further @Poli80 You can read a little more about this on the Turn2Us website.

Poli80

Hi 
@poppy123456 and @calcotti my apologies for the misunderstanding.
I got it mixed up with legacy benefits 🙈 silly me.

@Nezzer1968 please disregard my mentioning of ESA being included in UC. You can apply for new style ESA separately along UC claim. You'd need fit note from your gp for your wife and gather all her medical letters regarding her disability as this may be helpful. All the lovely ppl above have fab replies for you. 

As it comes for the witness @poppy123456 if life taught me anything it's better to have a "back up" as not all job centre advisors/coaches are as helpful as they should/could be I'm afraid. From my own experience and advises from professionals such as my local JC manager it's better to be safe than sorry.

@Tori_Scope thank you. I'm on legacy benefits and unfortunately due to my pain and tiredness yesterday I mixed it all up together 🙈 sorry about that. 
X

poppy123456

New style ESA is a contributions based only benefit and claiming this will depend on NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years. Claiming this will not make you financially better off because it's deducted in full from any UC entitlement.

I still don't see the need for a witness in this case.

calcotti

Poli80 said:

Hi 
@poppy123456 and @calcotti my apologies for the misunderstanding.
I got it mixed up with legacy benefits 🙈 silly me.

The whole benefits system is incredibly confused at the moment because there are effectively two different benefit systems running in parallel and worst of all when switching from legacy benefits to UC/new style benefits what a claimant gets on the new benefits can be hugely impacted by exactly how they make the switch.