We have had a query from a team supporting a lady with learning difficulties who lives in residential care (and has an assessment supporting her placement until she can be found supported independent living) who has been working voluntarily at an elderly persons' care home and has been offered a paid job there for 20 hrs per week. They want to know if she will be better off working or staying voluntary.
There seems to be a big issue about making sure she stays in the residential care home, although when I met the lady (I am a former teacher of children with severe learning difficulties) I felt that her learning difficulties seemed quite mild - as would be implied by her being offered a paid job where she is currently voluntary. I'm not sure why it is so important that she stay in the care home.
The lady concerned is in receipt of SDA & IS and apparently also Residential Care Allowance (?a very old obsolete benefit). I initially advised that she should claim WTC and return to work credit, plus her wages (128 pw gross) and would be better off at work: she would lose the SDA but would be able to claim if she were to become incapable of work again within 104 weeks. However, apparently this would mean her losing her place at the residential care home.
The support team is very insistent that she should stay at the care home and that we should be able to work out some way of her continuing to claim at least some of her benefits as well as work - they even wanted her not to claim WTC, though we advised this would be deprivation. But as far as we can see, SDA means 'unable to work' and if you work you lose it, unless it is properly arranged Permitted Work less than 16 hours pw, and the care home rules allowing you to claim IS and work over 16 hrs (CPAG Handbook p668) only apply to IS (and even then the earnings would be worked into the IS calculation).
Can anyone either support our position that this lady cannot work and also receive benefits and stay in her care home - or else suggest ways she could keep at least some of her benefits and work and stay in the home?
Many thanks.
Ken Garland Welfare Advice Team Soouth Gloucestershire Council
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