Universal Credit Work Allowance

[ep1987]

Currently i'm on ESA in the support group due to mental health (since 2016).

 

I want to try and get back into work but don't think i'd be capable of full-time employment straight away.

 

I'd be looking at doing between 10 and 16 hours per week initially (so on minimum wage let's say that's between £85 and £140 per week). I pay board directly to a family member.

 

Would i be eligible for Universal Credit or any other benefits?

 

What are the criteria for satisfying the limited capability for work needed to be eligible for the £503 work allowance on Universal Credit?

 

Any help would be much appreciated as obviously it would be far from ideal from a mental health standpoint to be struggling financially while also dealing with the stresses of going back to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[unclebulgaria67]

If you receive ESA support group and transfer to UC, you would receive the UC equivalent of support group which is limited capability for work and work related activity (LCWRA).

 

So the benefit amount would be standard allowance £317.82 ( if 25 or over), plus £336.20 LCWRA.  The £503 work allowance would apply due to LCWRA. So the first £503 is ignored and they then deduct 63 pence of benefit for each £1 of employment earnings. You would not be eligible for Housing, as you are paying a relative.

 

Your support group/LCWRA will be subject to another assessment at some point, with the review period already being set under the ESA claim.  If you start working and manage to maintain working, this would obviously be taken into account in any assessment. So it is important that you document any day to day issues you may have. Perhaps start a daily diary, where you write down how work went and what issues you had e.g. Pain, level of anxiety, anything you experienced each day. If you then struggled to work, you would have this daily diary to refer back to.

 

[ep1987]

6 hours ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

If you receive ESA support group and transfer to UC, you would receive the UC equivalent of support group which is limited capability for work and work related activity (LCWRA).

 

If you start working and manage to maintain working, this would obviously be taken into account in any assessment.

 

 

Am i not supposed to inform them of any change in circumstances immediately?

 

Either way i'd be fairly certain that if i am able to work 10 hours per week (but struggling) then i'd be scoring zero points at the assessment.

 

Obviously this wouldn't be enough money to live off; is there no element of universal credit that offers support to those who can only work part time due to health? I know previously that i could have applied for working tax credits by working 16 hours a week.

[unclebulgaria67]

You can stay on ESA and not be penalised for what is called permitted work.

 

Permitted work lets you:

• work for less than 16 hours each week
• earn up to £131.50 every week after tax
• receive your normal amount of benefit
• build up your skills and experience
• be supported while you work – we call this supported permitted work
• do voluntary work – there is no limit on how many hours a week you can do voluntary work for

There is no limit on the number of weeks you can do permitted work for.

 

Here is a Gov.uk  factsheet on the ESA permitted work

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-and-support-allowance-permitted-work-form/permitted-work-factsheet

 

If you look at the factsheet, there is a link to a form you need to complete to let ESA know you are going to be doing permitted work.

 

So I would suggest that you stay on ESA and keep the work within the permitted work limits.  See how you get on and if you later feel able to work more hours, you can then look to make a Universal Credit claim instead.

 

 

 

 

[ep1987]

36 minutes ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

You can stay on ESA and not be penalised for what is called permitted work.

 

Permitted work lets you:

• work for less than 16 hours each week
• earn up to £131.50 every week after tax
• receive your normal amount of benefit
• build up your skills and experience
• be supported while you work – we call this supported permitted work
• do voluntary work – there is no limit on how many hours a week you can do voluntary work for

There is no limit on the number of weeks you can do permitted work for.

 

Here is a Gov.uk  factsheet on the ESA permitted work

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-and-support-allowance-permitted-work-form/permitted-work-factsheet

 

If you look at the factsheet, there is a link to a form you need to complete to let ESA know you are going to be doing permitted work.

 

So I would suggest that you stay on ESA and keep the work within the permitted work limits.  See how you get on and if you later feel able to work more hours, you can then look to make a Universal Credit claim instead.

 

 

 

 

 

That seems like a good plan; thanks for the help.