UC Calculation

[purpledinosaur1]

Morning all,
I know its probably been posted on here many times before; but please can someone provide me with the manual calculation for Universal Credit? I know some online calculators aren't accurate and I'd like to double check. Also, what is disregarded and what is not? For example I know DLA/PIP is disregarded for income purposes, but what about carers etc? Hopefully won't need to apply - but the redundancy word has been thrown around at work and I wanted to be prepared just in case!
Thank you in advance

Go to the turn2us website. They will do a calculation for you. DLA is a separate benefit. But all other benefits. Carers housing etc is now in UC. You will get premiums for carers/disability etc.

Carers continues to be paid seperately to Uc but is deducted from your Uc pound for pound at an averaged monthly rate. But then you get the carers element added on which is an additional element.

So for a manual calculation you take all the elements that you are entitled to and add them up to get your total entitlement. Then you take net wages from you and/ or your partner. If you have a work allowance -if you have children on the claim or limited capabiltiy for work ( awarded after assessment) you take the work allowance off the earnings and then multipy by 0.63. This gives you the deduction from your total UC.

@Babyroobs

So for a manual calculation you take all the elements that you are entitled to and add them up to get your total entitlement. Then you take net wages from you and/ or your partner. If you have a work allowance -if you have children on the claim or limited capabiltiy for work ( awarded after assessment) you take the work allowance off the earnings and then multipy by 0.63. This gives you the deduction from your total UC.

Sorry should say then if carers was being claimed that is deducted.

Perfect! Thank you for your help!

Please can someone explain to me about the limited capability for work element?

Am I correct in thinking there's a waiting period? I've read you need to hand in sick notes from the doctor? If this element is awarded do you continue to have to hand in sick notes? Is the assessment similar to the PIP assessment? Is it awarded for a set period? Does anybody claim this element?

@purpledinosaur1

Please can someone explain to me about the limited capability for work element?

Am I correct in thinking there's a waiting period? I've read you need to hand in sick notes from the doctor? If this element is awarded do you continue to have to hand in sick notes? Is the assessment similar to the PIP assessment? Is it awarded for a set period? Does anybody claim this element?

You report your health condition in the health section and report sick notes. If they want you to send them in they will tell you but I think at the moment they are just asking people to report them and hold onto them due to covid. After a couple of months of handing in / reporting sick notes you will be sent a questionnaire ( UC50) to complete with all the details of your health conditions. You complete this then will have an assessment. Normally this is face to face but at the moment some are being done on the phone or just based on the form. There are long back logs and the process is taking ages. There are 3 outcomes from a work capability assessment. You can be found fit for work, or you can be awarded LCW which means you are not fir for work at the moment but can do some work related activities and thirdly you are awarded LCWRA - this means an extra £342 on your UC claim each month and no work search requirement and no work related activities. Being awarded LCWRA is the only outcome that pays extra money and if awarded it is backdated to the fourth UC assessment period after you started handing in or reporting sick notes. So if the whole process has taken more than 3 months ( sometimes takes years ! ), the money will be back dated to the fourth assessment period. I would try to send as much medical evidence as you can with your Uc50 form. The whole process seems to be a bit of a shambles at the moment. Once an award has been decided then you stop handing in sick notes - they will inform you of the decision by a letter on your journal.

So in summary - yes 3 month waiting period with no extra money, but in reality the process can take months longer. It's variable according to region and back log. Some get quick decisions, some it takes months. i work with cancer patients and they don't need an assessment if going through cancer treatment so tends to be quicker.

If awarded LCWRA it will be a different award period for each person. Obviously if they think your condition is going to improve quickly they can award for a short period. I've known some people be awarded just for 3 months but it's usually longer.
The assessment is similar to a PIP assessment but at the end of the day they are assessing for different things - the work capability assessment is about whether you are fit to do any type of work. PIP assessment is about how your disability affects you. Lots of people claiming PIP can and do work.

@babyroobs thank you so much for taking the time to reply and provide helpful advice. I really appreciate your response. I understood you had an advisory roll in real life and I often read your replies on different threads.