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Changing from ESA IR to UC

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5 years 5 months ago #219263 by mrs doyle
Changing from ESA IR to UC was created by mrs doyle
I am now in a UC live area,Reading through your UC guides and using the various benefit calculators,it looks like I would be better off requesting to be changed from ESA IR Support group to UC.If I were to do this ,would it be considered a new claim and trigger a WCA medical ? Thanks.

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5 years 5 months ago #219277 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Changing from ESA IR to UC
mrsdoyle

Some claimants will be better off under UC than ESA, providing they are not receiving the Severe Disability Premium as part of their ESA(IR).

You can make a claim for UC, you do not have to be migrated but be aware, once you do this then there is no way for you to return to ESA.

Your current ESA award should be transferred to UC, however, this appears to be a manual process so there may be a time when your SG status is not recognised, also it usually takes five weeks for a UC claim to go into payment so you need to think about how you will manage over this period.

Lastly, UC requires all claimants to sign a Claimant Commitment, even those with LCWRA (SG) status, this should not list any more than your agreeing to check your UC journal on a regular basis but I know that some claimants have still been reluctant to do this.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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5 years 5 months ago #219279 by BuddhaNature
Replied by BuddhaNature on topic Changing from ESA IR to UC

Gordon wrote: Lastly, UC requires all claimants to sign a Claimant Commitment, even those with LCWRA (SG) status, this should not list any more than your agreeing to check your UC journal on a regular basis but I know that some claimants have still been reluctant to do this.


Gordon could you please state what "LCWRA" stands for?

And are you saying that those in the Support Group (SG) will automatically be in the LCWRA as well?

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5 years 5 months ago #219288 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Changing from ESA IR to UC

BuddhaNature wrote: Gordon could you please state what "LCWRA" stands for?

And are you saying that those in the Support Group (SG) will automatically be in the LCWRA as well?


LCWRA - Limited Capability for Work Related Activity, this is exactly the same as for ESA.

Any existing ESA award should be automatically transferred to the equivalent UC one.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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5 years 5 months ago #219294 by BuddhaNature
Replied by BuddhaNature on topic Changing from ESA IR to UC
Hi Gordon,

Couple more questions on this:

Gordon wrote: Your current ESA award should be transferred to UC, however, this appears to be a manual process so there may be a time when your SG status is not recognised . . .

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum1?view=to...3&mesid=219277#write

Not sure what you are saying here Gordon when you say, ". . . your SG status is not recognised." Are you saying that a ESA SG claimant might have their SG membership removed when they are migrated to UC? If this happens what does the claimant need to do? Can the claimant insist that the SG status is reinstated?

Gordon wrote: Lastly, UC requires all claimants to sign a Claimant Commitment, even those with LCWRA (SG) status, this should not list any more than your agreeing to check your UC journal on a regular basis but I know that some claimants have still been reluctant to do this.


Am I correct in thinking that you are saying that signing a Claimant Commitment is mandatory to get receipt of UC?

Also, if the claimant was ESA SG and there is more in the Claimant Commitment presented to them by the Jobcentre than "[just] agreeing to check your UC journal on a regular basis" can the claimant legally refuse to sign the Claimant Commitment if there is more than that? And if the claimant does refuse what action can the Jobcentre/DWP take against the claimant in that situation? Would the claimant be within their rights to insist that the there is no more than just checking his/her UC journal (in essence, trying to protect their rights in a way that is congruent with having been in the SG)?

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5 years 5 months ago #219296 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Changing from ESA IR to UC
BN

You have taken the phrase out of context to the rest of the content, so I said that transferring the current ESA award is a manual process so there may be a period where it is not recognised but as soon as the transfer is made then it should.

Yes, a Claimant Commitment is currently a mandatory requirement, If a claimant refused to do so then I would expect their UC claim to be closed. It's important to understand that when claiming UC you are doing so as a new claim for the benefit, there are no Support Group rights to protect! It is just the award that is transferred.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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