UC50 form

Hi is it the UC50 form they have sent you out, is this your first time applying for it or is it a reassement?

It's UC50. My other half had to fill one in and he's having his work capability assessment soon tomorrow via a phonecall. From the advice he's been given from our local disability advisors, it's a bit like a PIP questionnaire but instead of wanting to know how your disabilities affect you on a daily basis, they want to know how you'd cope in employment. They do ask about what a typical day looks like for you but it's not about bad days and what your disability stops you doing, how it affects you etc , it's more about if you worked, would you be able to do x, u and z. So lifting, bending, can you raise your arms above your head to get a box off a shelf etc.

They want to know how you cope alone and doing certain tasks alone. It's basically seeing if you'd be OK to work.

Other half hasn't had his phonecall yet but I'll pop back on when he has and let you know what they ask.

It's very similar apparently to the work capability assessment you have when you claim ESA. My other half claimed ESA and had to have an assessment and I can tell you now - the woman doing it had absolutely no clue about his illnesses whatsover and literally sat in front of us and googled it and the meds he was on! When we got the letter to say if he was eligible for the extra payments (LWCRA), she'd awarded him 0 points based on her googling his meds and she wrote in her report that the meds he was on should cure him if taken regularly! When actually, there's no magical cure for his condition and those meds were making him very very ill!

They'll ask you the same question but word it in a different way so be prepared for that on the form too.

I think there's 2 different extra amounts you can get on UC. Ones about 200 a month, ones just over 400. I'm assuming you have to score so many points to qualify for the smaller extra time amount and more points to qualify for the higher amount? I'm fairly new to this and we've just migrated to UC in July so someone will come along soon with exact details and advice x

Tell me about it! This was years ago though so I'm hoping things have changed since then. Best part about it was he's in receipt of PIP (DLA back then) and I know they're totally separate but you'd have thought that someone with some knowledge about his conditions (or even health conditions in general!) would be employed to perform these assessments. Not someone who had to Google it all. We were fuming and should have appealed really.

Anyway after having a look at the amounts etc. There's the LWC which is 156 ish a month but they expect you to find work in the future and you'll have a work coach I'm presuming? and then the LWCRA which is 419 ish a month which means you'll have no claimant commitments. I think I've got that right lol.

Someone will pop on and explain about points soon, I'm sure. And tbh I could learn a thing or 2 as I don't know much about it myself. We just go with flow and haven't looked into it really xx

Ahh that's so good to know, thank you. Im new to it all too. Thank you!

It asks the same questions as a D.L.A form.. some years ago I appealed against the DWP decision & the questions I was asked were that of a D.L.A application even though I had not applied for D.L.A ! I won the appeal but didn't receive any other benefit...

Just jumping back on to let you know how partners WCA assessment went.

First, he got a call about an hour before just to confirm that he'd be attending the call.

His call was booked in for 9.50am but they didn't ring until about 10.

The guy who did it was actually really nice, very laid back. He started by going right back to the beginning - asked my partner how long he'd had his conditions for, how he got diagnosed ie what prompted him to visit his GP,asked if he was working at the time of his diagnosis and what job he had at the time. My partner told him how he'd been told at the time of diagnosis that they'd never seen levels of rheumatoid factor so high in someone so young before. He was very empathetic about that and said he was sorry to hear that and it must be awful.

They then spoke about his other significant medical history(we sent in a print out of his history from our GP) ie his femur fracture, how he almost lost his foot in a freak accident, then the further corrective (failed) surgery he had a few years ago, his other health conditions which are linked to his main health issues.

He then asked about how his conditions affect him, the help he receives from myself (they were both laughing when he told him I occasionally ask him to wash the pots to which the advisor said I know mate, it's not fair is it 😂) his pain levels and when he has a flare up and what triggers it, medications and issues he has with them, how he's limited to what he can take due to reactions and allergies.

They then discussed his mobility - how far he can walk, what stops him, does he drive (which he hardly does these days because of his feet and hands being so bad), has he got a blue badge, do we live in a house and if so is it adapted at all.

He then asked about current meds, when he will be seeing the consultant again.

He said he wasn't going to keep him any longer, said he's happy with everything discussed and advised to keep sending fit notes in, he's knows it's a pain and it can be a drawn out process but he'll hear as soon as possible and once he hears back, he won't have to send any more for notes.

The whole call lasted 26 mins.

You're very welcome.

They guy was really pleasant and he knew quite a bit about partners condition. Maybe because he does this for a living and has had to deal with thousands of other claimants with the same issues but he was genuinely seemed interested and knowledgeable. He listened, he didn't try to rush it, he let partner speak and explain.

It was a LOT better than the assessment he had for ESA all those years ago, put it that way. At least he wasn't sat googling stuff.

I don't know how long it takes to get a decision (can someone please jump on and share their experiences please?) but from the bits I've read, it can take 4 - 6 weeks but you're usually in receipt of the LCWRA amount by the 4th month of claiming or sending in fit notes? We're in month 4 now, well we get our 4th payment of UC end of Nov. So hopefully won't be long now.

Ah thats brill, thank you for that info @poppy123456

I'm actually shocked that he had a call based assessment rather than f2f.

In the letter he got regarding the assessment, they did state that given his health issues, they'd conduct a call as opposed to f2f app. Hope he hears back soon

In regards to points - how do they work? As in how do they decide whether to award it or not?

Most assessments are by telephone so it's not surprising that he had one. Yes, Transitional Protection erodes if other elements increase or you become entitled to other elements.

The descriptors for LCWRA are here. Only one of those needs to apply.

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/limited-capability-for-work-related-activity

LCW here

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/limited-capability-for-work

Ah, no worries. Glad I could help. It's good to hear of others experiences whether they be good or bad because it gives you a better idea of what to expect.

I know everyone's situation is different and some people are more anxious than others. We didn't have a clue what to expect, well we did kind of but you really don't know how its going to go until the day.

The assessor explained everything clearly before he started, told my partner what he was likely to be asking him and tbh we thought it would take a lot longer than it did x