ESA and UC

Laff91 · February 2021

Hi again,
So I've been sat worrying as I'm due to get paid tomorrow, and for some reason I'm panicking that I won't (doesn't help when I suffer with Depression & Anxiety).
I had a decision maker contact me regarding my ESA, now i was in the support group.
The decision was made which says "Following your work capability assessment, we have decided that you have limited capability for work but are now fit enough to take part in work related activities, you may get less universal credit because you no longer have capability for work related activity"
This sounds to me, that im no longer getting ESA, but my head is all over the place with worry, could someone just explain to me whether or not im still getting ESA or do i have to now apply for something else?
I know i asked in a pervious post but looking back, im a little confused,
I should get paid tomorrow, would i still be paid on the same date even though i've been moved out the support group?

calcotti · February 2021

I am not clear whether you are getting ESA or UC or both. Regardless, as you have been found to have a Limited Capability for Work if you previously had Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity, you will now get less benefit but you will still be receiving benefits. If you disagree with the decision you need to request a Mandatory Reconsideration,
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/problems-with-benefits-and-tax-credits/challenging-a-benefit-decision/challenging-a-dwp-benefit-decision-on-or-after-28-october-2013/challenging-a-benefit-or-tax-credit-decision-asking-for-a-reconsideration/

Laff91 · February 2021

Hi @calcotti,
I currently get both UC and ESA as I’m a single parent. What I’m really trying to ask is, I get my ESA normally every 2 weeks, but now with the change will I continue to still receive ESA every 2 weeks? ESA doesn’t get paid with my UC as they are separate claims, however the letter from the decision maker was from UC so I’m a little confused to will it now be paid monthly? I’m going to give them a call anyway just to be certain.

Adrian_Scope · February 2021

Hello @Laff91.
It sounds as though you have been moved from the support group to WRAG. This means you'll no longer receive the LCWRA element on UC (currently £341) and unless your ESA claim began before April 2017, you won't receive any additional money for being in LCW now.

Your ESA is currently New Style ESA. You were previously in support group so I assume receiving £113.55 a week, now you have been moved to WRAG/LCW this will go down £74.35. You can also only receive this for 1 year.

If you feel as though your condition hasn't changed and you should still be awarded Support Group/LCWRA you can appeal the decision.

Laff91 said:

ESA doesn’t get paid with my UC as they are separate claims

It would be worth you double checking that your UC statements contain an additional element called 'Limited capability for work and work-related activity'. As you were in the support group on ESA, you should have this on your UC award too, as your ESA is deducted from UC.
It should look like this on your statement:
Screenshot of a Universal Credit journal, with the text Limited capability for work and work-related activity. You said your health affects you at work or prevents you from working. £341.92

Screenshot of a Universal Credit journal, with the text Limited capability for work and work-related activity. You said your health affects you at work or prevents you from working. £341.92

Laff91 · February 2021

Thank you for your response @Adrian_Scope.

I’ve managed to sort it, what you said is right, I’ve been placed into WRAG but my ESA remains the same, as I was confused because I thought it was regarding my ESA. However it wasn’t, it was my UC.
So what has happened is my ESA stays the same, I remain in the support group. But I’ve been moved to WRAG through UC.

Really confused me as I initially thought it was about my ESA, but after various calls I got it sorted.
Thanks all for the help, really appreciate it

calcotti · February 2021

Your group should not be different for ESA and UC. They should apply the WCA decision to both benefits.

Laff91 · February 2021

@calcotti
See this is what I was thinking, but after talking with ESA they said nothing has changed and shouldn't change as my 18 month review ain't up until the 24th of June, and I asked if I will be paid as normal and are there any changes in my benefit, he said no I will be paid and payment has been released for tomorrow, and I'll continue to still be in the support group. But then talking with UC, which I rang twice as the first person I spoke to was clueless, they have said I've now been placed in WRAG through UC, but my ESA won't be affected as its a separate claim from UC, and my UC shows deductions for my ESA as it's separate.
I don't quite understand how UC have placed me in WRAG as I'm still in the support group for ESA, but again its a different benefit so I can only guess each decision is different for both the claims

Adrian_Scope · February 2021

I'm not certain the advice you've been given by ESA and UC telephony is correct I'm afraid @Laff91.

While UC and ESA are different benefits, you are what's called a "dual claimant", so the decisions on one impact both.
As a dual claimant UC are supposed to take the lead on any reassessments and the decision from these carries over to New Style ESA as well. So if someone is in the Support Group on ESA they should be on LCWRA on UC, and if they're awarded LCW on UC, they should be placed in WRAG on ESA.
There does seem to be some delay in this happening when transitioning a decision from UC to ESA, but it's my understanding that at some point this will be picked up and your ESA adjusted accordingly.

Did you manage to take a look at your past UC statements to check if you were receiving the LCWRA element previously?

Laff91 · February 2021

@Adrian_Scope
Hmmm I think you could be correct, what you've said makes total sense, and this is also what I thought after the phone calls.
Yes, looking at my UC it shows this,

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6027153/uploads/editor/qx/m05u9t824kox.png

But this gets deducted because of my ESA claim, also I'm not to sure but I don't think I'm on new style ESA, think mine is income based ESA, whether this makes a difference I don't know, but I think you stand correct in what you say as it was only recent the decision was made.

calcotti · February 2021

You are not on income based ESA. UC replaces income based ESA and any existing award of income based ESA would have ended when you claimed UC. You may have had an ESA award which was a mix of contribution based and income based in which case the income based bits would have stopped when you claimed UC but the contribution based bits would have continued.

Laff91 · February 2021

@calcotti
When I first applied for ESA after coming out of work in 2017, I was on income based ESA, this has not changed since 2017 from what I believe and I ain't been informed if so, and I've been receiving £113.55 weekly till this date, I was told "New Style ESA" wasn't in my area and I would remain on the current ESA I am claiming.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6027153/uploads/editor/ta/i596x4r8xbbk.png

You can see here my deductions, which don't add up to the £341.92 it states on my UC, and this has remained the same since I applied for UC, the only thing I can think of is, they have changed me over to New Style ESA, or as @Adrian_Scope said there is a delay in the change on ESA side.

calcotti · February 2021

As explained in my previous post the old type of ESA was a benefit that could contain both contribution based and income based amounts. Any income based entitlement ended when you claimed UC but any contribution based entitlement continues. £113.55/week is the contribution based amount for someone in the Support Group.

The deduction from your UC has to be converted to a monthly amount. £113.55 x 52 / 12 = £492.05.

ESA and UC

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