Health Assessment (my journey) :-(

Gordon wrote: Stressed

PIP is a separate benefit from ESA and UC, providing you can manage the workload of a claim then there is no reason why you cannot make a claim for PIP now.

UC has to be claimed as a household, you can provide a new Fit Note and ask to be assessed as Unfit for Work, the criteria is exactly the same as ESA so you will need to think about how you approach this. You may be able to receive the Carers Element without your receiving PIP or CA this would excuse your partner from being required to work.

A claim for CA can only be made if you have a Daily Living award of PIP but it should be possible to backdate it to when any PIP award is made.

Gordon

Thanks again Gordon

So does that mean if I put in a pip claim now and win my ESA appeal at the upper tribunal, they will run alongside each other?


I'm a bit confused about the second part of your reply.

When my ESA we originally stopped they said we had to make separate claims and both sit interviews and be expected to do job searches...etc


So from what your saying I can claim UC as a household (so will include my partner as my ESA did) but claim I'm unfit for work by supplying a doctor's fit note (I still have a valid one for another 3 months) and state that my partner cares for me?

Gordon wrote:

Stressed wrote: So from what your saying I can claim UC as a household (so will include my partner as my ESA did) but claim I'm unfit for work by supplying a doctor's fit note (I still have a valid one for another 3 months) and state that my partner cares for me?

Yes, this is correct.

Yes, you can claim PIP and ESA or UC at the same time.

Be aware, the most likely positive result from a UTT appeal is a new FTT hearing, it is very rare for a UTT Judge to make an award.

Gordon

Thanks Gordon, your giving me a little ray of hope

I thought the best case would be for the upper tribunal to have it stayed so I would go back on esa. If they just send it back to the first tier tribunal then it is likely to have the same outcome.


So I really should have put in a pip claim from the start.

How do I go about starting a claim as a household (with fit note) and having my partner as my carer?

If you remember when I was first taken off esa I was told we both had to make a UC application.

We actually started one but then retracted it.

The only thing we could do was start a claim as a couple but the end result was for us both having to go a sit an interview and then be expected to do job searches...etc

At what point do I show my fit note and put my partner down as my carer?

Gordon wrote: Stressed

You, not you and your partner can make a claim for PIP by phoning the PIP Claim line, our PIP Claim guide has the details and also covers the questions you will be asked. See

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

If you want to make a claim for UC then have a look at the following

www.gov.uk/universal-credit

It has links to the UC online claim page.

I'm not sure whether the claim process asks whether you are unable to work due to illness, if it doesn't then you need to put an entry onto your Journal as soon as you have access that you want to be assessed.

Gordon

Sorry I thought you meant that i could put in a single UC claim as a household and say that my partner is my carer .

But your saying we would both need to put in a claim as a couple so we would have two separate UC accounts and on my account I show the fit note and on my partners they say they are caring for me?