Long covid and Universal Credit

[LongCovidGoAway]

I have been let go at work ( was on probation ) due to being off so much
I’m under the long covid clinic and have suffered terrible exhaustion and pain for the last 2 years
I am now having to claim UC LWCRA - can anyone tell me what it’s like please?
Thanks

You can't claim LCWRA you have to be assessed for it. Get your UC claim started - report a fit note and you will be referred for a Work Capability Assessment. LCWRA is a possible outcome of the assessment.

And before you get a work capability assessment appointment, you will need to fill in a work capability questionnaire (form UC50).

There are some good online guides that help with filling this in, Newcastle City Council have a good one on their website, but there are others. (It may actually say ESA50, but the form and the principles are the same.)

If you get Limited Capability for Work Related Activity, you won't have to attend appointments with a work coach or be expected to look for work, and your UC will go up by £390 a month.

I’m already on UC due to having a low income

I’ve updated the fit note ( 3 months ) and it says received but no mention of this form as yet

Have you reported the fit note on your account?

Yes I updated a change to health and that allowed me to put the fit note dates in

I don’t know if I need to do anything else at this moment in time but I’m worried as I’m so unwell that I’m missing things I should / could be doing

When did you do this?

The form will be sent automatically usually but if not send a journal message to ask after about 5 weeks from the fit note being reported. You will probably have an appointment with a coach soon as fit notes don't mean no appointments at all.

I updated the fit note on Monday

So until they decide if I qualify for the extra I’m going to have no money it seems for 14 weeks, is this right?

If you are assessed as having LCWRA you won't receive the extra money until you've been putting fit notes in for three months. Until then you'll receive your basic UC entitlement plus a housing element if you're renting.

During this three months you'll have regular meetings with your work coach, though with no requirement to look for work until a decision is made on your Work Capability Assessment.

No that's not right - you'll get the usual UC elements dependent on your circumstances but you won't get LCWRA included. You will have to wait until you are assessed and if you're awarded it it will be from the 4th Assessment Period after making your claim.

That’s still going to leave me awfully short compared to when I was able to work, probably around £600 down 😢

Life on benefits can be really shit. It's a very minimal 'safety net' and often barely covers the basics (which is why the benefit bashing threads make me roll my eyes). I hope your health improves and you'll be able to work again.

It’s a very bad system that lets someone struggle for 4 months before awarding the additional money when a doctor has basically said unfit for work and uncertain if will ever be able to work again - shouldn’t that be enough?

Yes I agree that the three months wait is punishing. I think that anyone who is awarded LCWRA should get it backdated to the first day of their fit note.
You know that your gp's opinion won't be much help, if any, in you getting LCWRA? It's all dependant on how you fill in the Work Capacity Application, and then your interview.

I’m very worried about this as long covid doesn’t seem covered really with the questions asked looking at that form but I’m constantly unwell so I felt like I had no choice

You can add sheets to the form but I also strongly suggest that you take advice completing it as most people do not say enough about how their condition affects them working. Remember it's about capacity to do any suitable work not just the job you were doing. LCWRA is not a guaranteed outcome.

What your work coach should be exploring with you is different areas of work that would be more compatible with your disability, and/or reduce the number of hours you need to work/job hunt per week - this is separate from the limited capacity to work status. What kind of work were you doing?

The reason for the 3 month wait is that this uplift is only available to people with long term inability to work, not in the first 3 months, pip is similar - have you tried claiming that? The good thing about pip is that it isn't affected by working so your claim could continue if you do find a compatible job.

The other thing that you need to bare in mind is they will expect you to consider all work not just your previous job eg if working in a shop standing up isn't possible, would working in a fully seated job? A flexible wfh 25 hours a week office job? It doesn't mean you will find it easy to get said jobs but physically can you do them. It's pretty tough to get limited capacity to work in my experience (I help people with claims) I'm not saying you won't but don't pin your hopes on it

Yes and this is terrible and very stressful. Often people are deemed fit for work and they aren't so have to go through mandatory reconsideration, with further delay. It's worth getting a charity or Citizens Advice to help you fill in the form.

I have done 4 different types of jobs over the 2 years I’ve had long covid for

The problem is that no matter what kind of job I am in; after a week or two I am bedridden again with complete exhaustion / terrible pain

I’m being investigated for ME as well

Its not the type of job - it’s the complete unpredictable nature of this illness that has led me here 😢

Massively panicking now I don’t know what to do
I was signed off for 3 months so as in probation I was let go

I can’t keep going from job to job until my sickness record is so bad that they sack me 😢

You need to look at the criteria. There's certain criteria that will get you LCRWA (support group) but you need 15 points to stay on ESA.

Op....ask your citizens advice bureau for help with making the claim and filling out the forms...... they were invaluable with my claim. Good luck with it all x

Thanks all