LCWRA. Anyone been told that the 3 month wait period starts from the decision date?

sarah94

Hi, Has anyone been told that the 3 month wait period starts from the decision date, i have been chasing for an update on when payments are to start and have been told not until feb 2023 as decision was made in sept, from what i have read on this site thats not normally the case is it? Thanks for any advice 

poppy123456

That's not correct. The waiting period starts from when you first reported your health condition, providing you sent a fit note within 7 days of this and continued to send them without any gaps until a decision was made on the WCA.

When it's paid from will depend what date exactly you reported your health condition and the date you usually receive your money each month.

sarah94

sarah94

This is what i rec this morning ive called to state this isnt correct and quite a rude response, the lady on the call was nice said something about a mandatory recalculation (maybe something similar) 

poppy123456

Again, they are getting this completely wrong. It's very frustrating when they don't know there own rules. The only time this may happen is if there were gaps in your fit notes.

I can't tell you when it's paid from without you answering these questions.

poppy123456 said:

When it's paid from will depend what date exactly you reported your health condition and the date you usually receive your money each month.

If there were no gaps in your fit notes you can request the Mandatory Reconsideration on that decision.

sarah94

Very frustrating, my first fit note was 6th april and my payment date is the 15th of the month no gaps thanks

poppy123456

That means your waiting period will be April/May, May/June, June/July.. LCWRA starts from assessment period 9th July to 8th August and first payment would be 15th August.

sarah94

Ok thank you, i thought i was going mad  im waiting a response to my query to this on journal can take up to 24th at 6pm 🙄 will update with a response when i get one thanks again 

calcotti

sarah94 said:

Hi, Has anyone been told that the 3 month wait period starts from the decision date, i have been chasing for an update on when payments are to start and have been told not until feb 2023 as decision was made in sept, from what i have read on this site thats not normally the case is it? Thanks for any advice 

Unfortunately this seems to be a very common error by DWP. If you don't get it resolved and have to submit a Mandatory Reconsideration please refer them to their own guidance
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1085953/admf5.pdf

F5030 The LCWRA element is not included in an award of UC until the first day of the assessment period following the assessment period in which the relevant period ends1. But see F5040 et seq for exceptions to this rule.

F5031 The relevant period is three months beginning

1. in relevant threshold cases (where the claimant has weekly earnings at or above the relevant threshold and is entitled to DLA or PIP), on

1.1 the first day of the award of UC or
1.2 if later, the date on which the claimant applies for the LCWRA element to be included in the

award or
2. in any other case, on the first day on which the claimant provides medical evidence of LCW.

calcotti

Also explained in this DWP document
https://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2022-0452/125-Relevant_periods_for_LCWRA_V4.0.pdf

MrsCactus9

I handed in my first fit note 14th of April, my assessment period starts the 13th. I got accepted for LCWRA July 15th (3 days after the assessment) and got my first LCWRA in September. I feel like I read somewhere that it’s the first 3 full assessment periods from when your first fit note started. So if I’d gotten a fit note only a few days earlier my first payment would have been august. I hope this helps? 

L_Volunteer

Thanks for sharing this with us @MrsCactus9. I am sure your experiences will be invaluable to people experiencing similar things. 

How are you feeling about things at the moment? I hope things are going well for you but we are all here for you and listening to you if we can do anything to help 

L_Volunteer

Thanks for your question @sarah94. I can see some of our community members have already responded to your question.

Do you feel your question has been answered yet? Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can provide further clarity or any other support 

sarah94

poppy123456

They are incorrect! You need to request the Mandatory Reconsideration. 

sarah94

Ive now asked for the mandatory reconsideration🙄 im not sure what the outcomes of this are if anyone can knows the procedure i can imagine it takes ages 😩

poppy123456

2-12 weeks for MR decisions.

sarah94

Ok thank you for your help so far fingers crossed it will be a good outcome🤷🏾‍♀️

Alex_Alumni

We're keeping fingers crossed for you @sarah94 if you need a hand with anything in the meantime, please do ask, and we'll see how we can help