Universal credit partner

[singlemumhelp]

Hey,
Do me and my partner love seperate. He started abusing alchol due to his mental health so is now working reduced hours.
So he has just made a claim, he is apparently entitled to £0 this month, his work hours has been reduced as he cannot mentally cope with more hours since having a breakdown, his illness at the beginning of the year, we did put this on the claim and nothing came Off it. As this is the first month he is claiming, but he is also becoming a carer for me partner as i suffers badly mentally and is waiter further diagnosis of fibromyalgia. They have taken money of every pound he earns, I thought they couldn't do that as when we did the calculation it says he wouldn't be.

Any advice on wording back a reconsideration to them?

Have I understood correctly that you and your partner have seperated? Is he now living in a different house to you?

It will all depend on how much he earns. He won’t have a work allowance so 55p for every £1 will be taken off his UC amount. If he doesn’t have a rent element and just the basic Uc amount a wage of £750 will result in no Uc

I presume he is only claiming UC carers element rathe than carers allownce if he works ? Carers element is paid as part of the Uc award and reduced by wage deductions. maybe he has earned too much this month and it has wiped out the whole award. Impossible to know without seeing his statement.

If he has no kids living with him then he would not get a work allowance meaning that each pound he earns reduces his UC award by 55p.

We are together but live seperate. Unfortunately agree previous experiences and my young son struggling with change I don't feel I could live with someone full time: we share our time between our houses. But also finically o am better off on my own.

He has been told by the doctor to reduce hours so I thought this would put him in the bracket that he would be able to keep some Of his wages? Due to alcohol abuse, depression and a hernia op after his cancer and has been told to reduce hours.

He has a rent element as his rent is £700

If he needs to limit his working hours due to his health then he can report his health issues on his Uc claim and hand in sick notes and wait to be assessed IF he is earning less than 16 x nmw a week ( unless he receives PIP ). He cannot be assessed for work capability if earning more than 16 x nmw unless he has PIP in place also. If he was awarded LCW or LCWRA after a work capability assessment then he would get a work allowance on his claim. However he cannot be paid LCWRA and carers element, the LCWRA is a higher amount.

Has he provided them with proof that he's liable to pay rent yet (eg, copy of tenancy agreement)? If not, the housing costs element may not be included.

Without knowing what his earnings are and what the local housing allowance is for the size of home he's entitled to, it's impossible to comment really. If the online calculation you did said he would be entitled to was wrong, it's probably because some of the info you put in was wrong.

It's pretty rare for the DWP to get a UC calculation wrong, tbh, but if they haven't got the right info, it won't be right, iyswim.

Do you get PIP, OP, and does it include the daily living component? If so, and as long as he cares for you for 35 hours pw or more, he could have the carer's element added to his claim which would raise the threshold at which his entitlement to UC stops.

If he lives on his own - no kids or whatever - I doubt the whole £700 will be eligible for Housing Element. It'll be limited by Local Housing Allowance - or 'bedroom tax'.

To keep more of his wages via a work allowance he'd need to have kids or have been assessed as having Limited Capability for Work. But unless his hours are very low, or he gets PIP, he will not be able to access the Assessment.

If you can give us some more precise numbers, perhaps an anonymised version of his monthly statement, we can give a more precise answer.

But I have to be honest and say, based on circumstances, a nil award does not smell seriously wrong as per the regulations.

If you are both splitting your time between both properties and are essentially living as a couple ie eating meals together, shopping together etc I would be very worried that they would infact still class you as a couple. Just because you stay in different properties on different days doesn't mean you don't live together unless I'm reading that entirely wrong, in which case I apologise.

It's very common for couples to do this as they are financially better off but it could be classed as fraud. I say this as someone who was previously assessed for benefit fraud under similar circumstances, thankfully I was found to be claiming honestly at the time but it was a big worry and opened my eyes to what the DWP class as living together.

With regards to his claim, it is correct that money is deducted from his UC dependent on his wages. Will his wages going forward be the same amount every month, or was he paid his old rate last month which has now been reduced?

Has he used his universal credit account to report a fit note? Otherwise he will be expected to be looking for work. After 3 months this will trigger a LCWRA assessment.

If he is deemed to have limited capability for work related activity he will receive an additional monthly amount of £390 and no longer have to provide fit notes. He (and you) should also apply for PIP if you haven't already done so, it isn't means tested so can be claimed whilst working without any deductions.

Unlikely they would be treated as a couple if paying separate rent, bills etc.

@Babyroobs when I was investigated we both had our own properties, paying our own bills but luckily it was proven that we actually spent quite a bit of time apart and only spent the night together at weekends. They came to my home and looked in the bathroom etc and questioned why he had a toothbrush here and a razor etc. Was an awful experience.

@TheLadyIsAVamp how long ago was that?

A former colleague of mine did Sup Ben investigations along those lines but back in the eighties. My understanding is that they're a bit more nuanced now but nothing would surprise.

@Bromptotoo it was in 2011 I believe so a while ago. I'm not sure of the process now although I've hear it's mainly surveillance they use these days.

If he lives on his own - no kids or whatever - I doubt the whole £700 will be eligible for Housing Element. It'll be limited by Local Housing Allowance- or 'bedroom tax'.

Not true.

The LHA rate for a single person in my part of the SE works out a few pence short of £800 a month. I'm 50 miles from London, and suspect there are plenty of areas in London where it is higher.

The "bedroom tax" is something completely different.