Transitional Protection during a Change of Circumstances and Work Commitment.

Hi everyone.

My client is going through UC migration and has Transitional Protection.

She was on ESA and Housing Benefit, she is also on enhanced daily living and mobility PIP, and within the ESA support group; naturally she is unable to work or look/prepare for work at all.

1) Since she moved over to UC, she has been hounded by work coaches about her work commitments. As far as I’m aware, if you were in the support group, you’re not supposed to have any work-related requirements if you transfer over to UC, is this correct? She has a work-focussed interview on Wednesday.

2) She is also concerned that due to her daughter, who lives with her in a 2 bedroom local authority flat, starting university in September, this will somehow affect how much housing payments she will receive - am I right in thinking that this won’t have an affect?

Welcome to the forum, great to hear from you as a first poster .... I’ll do my best on the second question you raise as I have less to do with the day to day tactics of dealing with difficult work coaches ...(maybe someone else can chip in there to help us out?). Students who are staying at another address for the purpose of their studies can ‘sometimes’ be treated as a non-dependant at their non-term time address.

DWP’s Advice for Decision Makers sets out the rules and provides a student example (see para F3034 ADM Chapter 3) but says it can go either way depending on the facts.

If the DWP accepts that the student remains normally living at home, as a non-dependant no housing cost contribution will be applied to Mum’s claim as long as the student is under 21 (as one of the exemptions set out in para F3151).

Our web tool ucinfo might help further with the regulations and guidance for this. See the Housing cost contribution section for more info.

Hi there, just to come back on the other point. This seems to happen a lot! The issue is, as far as I can tell, that the information that your client was in the support group hasn’t yet got through to UC - due to the ESA system & the UC system being separate.

It’s very daunting, but she should keep explaining that she has limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) status carried over from her ESA. I’m assuming that she was still on ESA when she made the UC claim (so reg 19 of the UC (Transitional Provisions) Regs 2014 would apply: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1230/regulation/19).

She does still need to accept a claimant commitment, as this is a basic condition of UC & if she doesn’t accept one she isn’t going to get it. But as someone with LCWRA this will ultimately (once UC know her LCWRA status) simply say that she agrees to report changes etc - it won’t have any work-related requirements.

It’s possible that by the time of her WFI, the support group status (ie LCWRA status) will have got through to UC. She should also get the LCWRA element in her first award (ie at end of first assessment period) -  if it isn’t there, an MR should sort that out. She should attend the WFI if she possibly can (but if there are accessibility or other disability issues which prevent her from doing so, make sure these are notified to DWP in advance).

In a worst case scenario where the ESA information hasn’t got through & she needs to accept a claimant commitment in order to get her money, it may be better to agree to it but to try to get it properly tailored to her circumstances. That’s a tactical issue, but that is what I would advise. In any case, even if she had a claimant commitment which she had accepted, & which required her to look for work, I doubt any decision maker would sanction her for not doing so - certainly I’ve never had that come up & I’ve had this scenario several times with migrating clients. If she were sanctioned that could easily be challenged as she is as you point out someone with LCWRA & therefore can’t be given a conditionality sanction.