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Claiming UC - young disabled lad?
- buster21
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3 years 11 months ago #259049 by buster21
Claiming UC - young disabled lad? was created by buster21
Hi
Looking for non generic advice - specific to the following. Son, will be claiming UC soon when he turns 20. I am his DWP appointee - I will be making the claim. He has life long disabilities including a learning disability and visual impairment and communication difficulties.
I am wondering how the process SHOULD unfold. I am expecting limited capability for work and limited capability for work related activity - after he's been assessed.
I am aware of obtaining a sick note from GP - and then me making the claim online for him. How Should this all play out? For example, will a work coach be involved? What conditionality are they likely to place upon him? Will any such conditionality be placed upon me as his appointee? Are they likely to want to speak to him or see him during the initial claim process and assessment period?
What is the anecdotal evidence out there for vulnerable young adults making a UC claim - currently? In terms of what to expect - as UC is now an established benefit - there must be a benchmark for such circumstances.
Please don't simply offer generic advice from government sources - advice has to be specific to the straightforward circumstances mentioned above - thanks. If you can't offer any advice then that is fine too.
Buster
Looking for non generic advice - specific to the following. Son, will be claiming UC soon when he turns 20. I am his DWP appointee - I will be making the claim. He has life long disabilities including a learning disability and visual impairment and communication difficulties.
I am wondering how the process SHOULD unfold. I am expecting limited capability for work and limited capability for work related activity - after he's been assessed.
I am aware of obtaining a sick note from GP - and then me making the claim online for him. How Should this all play out? For example, will a work coach be involved? What conditionality are they likely to place upon him? Will any such conditionality be placed upon me as his appointee? Are they likely to want to speak to him or see him during the initial claim process and assessment period?
What is the anecdotal evidence out there for vulnerable young adults making a UC claim - currently? In terms of what to expect - as UC is now an established benefit - there must be a benchmark for such circumstances.
Please don't simply offer generic advice from government sources - advice has to be specific to the straightforward circumstances mentioned above - thanks. If you can't offer any advice then that is fine too.
Buster
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- Catherine
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3 years 11 months ago #259065 by Catherine
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Catherine on topic Claiming UC - young disabled lad?
Hello buster,
Giving individual advice is beyond the scope of this site, and if that is what you need then we recommend the following site for finding someone local who can help you.
This can be a helpful link in locating someone.
However I can tell you how I would expect the process to unfurl for you.
After you have applied on line you will be asked to submit a Fit note, aka sick note. When you do this it will be an important date since any future uplift in payments due to being placed in the LCWRA group will either start or be back dated to three months from that date. You will almost certainly be contacted by phone by an allocated work coach. Most people with significant disabilities find the work coach to be a real asset in this process, and it is to everyone’s advantage to develop a good relationship. It is possible that they may wish to speak to your son, but they certainly should only do so to a limited extent and in your presence.
The work coach will be the person who will decide if it is appropriate for your son to be looking for work or doing any work related activities. At this point it would be useful for you to have a supporting letter from your GP saying why, in his/her opinion your son should not be asked to undertake such activities. The work coach has to make the decision, and more evidence he/she has the easier it is for them to make the right one.
Even at the pre Capability for Work Assessment phase it is important that a claimant is not asked to do anything which would cause them or someone else mental or physical harm. Should you feel that such a request is being made you should make this clear to the work coach, who in my experience will readily be reasonable.
The work coach is also the person who will trigger the Capability for Work Assessment. Please do read our guides on this. Apply for UC
Thinking of the vulnerable adults I work with, of all ages, there are no conditions placed on them (or appointee) other than to keep to any appointments which the work coach requests. The ones I know would expect to request a phone call with yourself about once a month just as a means of staying in touch. It is only when a vulnerable adult fails to be awarded LCWRA that there are additional expectations. I can’t speak about other areas, but perhaps our members will help out there.
You have probably heard of the UC journal. This is an online method of communicating with the work coach and sometimes other people who are involved with a claim. It works really well, and is generally the most effective form of communication.
I am sorry if all of this is a little too generic for you, but I hope some of it is of some use,
Catherine
Giving individual advice is beyond the scope of this site, and if that is what you need then we recommend the following site for finding someone local who can help you.
This can be a helpful link in locating someone.
However I can tell you how I would expect the process to unfurl for you.
After you have applied on line you will be asked to submit a Fit note, aka sick note. When you do this it will be an important date since any future uplift in payments due to being placed in the LCWRA group will either start or be back dated to three months from that date. You will almost certainly be contacted by phone by an allocated work coach. Most people with significant disabilities find the work coach to be a real asset in this process, and it is to everyone’s advantage to develop a good relationship. It is possible that they may wish to speak to your son, but they certainly should only do so to a limited extent and in your presence.
The work coach will be the person who will decide if it is appropriate for your son to be looking for work or doing any work related activities. At this point it would be useful for you to have a supporting letter from your GP saying why, in his/her opinion your son should not be asked to undertake such activities. The work coach has to make the decision, and more evidence he/she has the easier it is for them to make the right one.
Even at the pre Capability for Work Assessment phase it is important that a claimant is not asked to do anything which would cause them or someone else mental or physical harm. Should you feel that such a request is being made you should make this clear to the work coach, who in my experience will readily be reasonable.
The work coach is also the person who will trigger the Capability for Work Assessment. Please do read our guides on this. Apply for UC
Thinking of the vulnerable adults I work with, of all ages, there are no conditions placed on them (or appointee) other than to keep to any appointments which the work coach requests. The ones I know would expect to request a phone call with yourself about once a month just as a means of staying in touch. It is only when a vulnerable adult fails to be awarded LCWRA that there are additional expectations. I can’t speak about other areas, but perhaps our members will help out there.
You have probably heard of the UC journal. This is an online method of communicating with the work coach and sometimes other people who are involved with a claim. It works really well, and is generally the most effective form of communication.
I am sorry if all of this is a little too generic for you, but I hope some of it is of some use,
Catherine
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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- buster21
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3 years 11 months ago #259073 by buster21
Replied by buster21 on topic Claiming UC - young disabled lad?
Thank you very much for your advice Catherine. I have another question. We will be claiming UC in July. If he was to start a course at the local college, how would this affect things. He might be starting in September. It might be 3 days a week - classed as full time. It would be non-advanced education. It would be a basic entry level course for young people with complex and SEN needs - rather than sitting at home doing nothing all day long. he would get 1-1 support and transport to make this happen. Would this make him ineligible for claiming UC? Anymore pitfalls to look out for in relation to this course and the UC process? Many thanks.
Buster
Buster
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- Flora
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3 years 11 months ago #259079 by Flora
Replied by Flora on topic Claiming UC - young disabled lad?
Hi
My son has ASD and severe OCD. When I made a claim for his UC it went like this:
Had to take him to register with his ID.
Even though I was already his appointee I had to become his appointee again for the purposes of UC as it came under a different section.
He then had an appointment with a work coach where I handed in his first fit note. The work coach was lovely and very knowledgable about my son’s disabilities. She turned off all the commitments on his account and the only thing required was to hand in the fit notes every 3 months and for me to have a 5 minute call with the work coach every 3 months. It was over a year before I received his UC50 pack which I completed following the guides. I then had to take him for an assessment. The assessor really grilled me for about 15 minutes and then ended abruptly by telling me he now had enough information. I remember being quite surprised by this as was expecting to be there for at least an hour and he had only asked me about the OCD and nothing about ASD. The assessor explained it as 3 cups he had to fill, and once all the cups were full he didn’t need to go any further as the information was sufficient to make his report. After the assessment we had the result in less than a week and he was placed in the lcwra group. Once that happened we no longer had to provide fit notes or have phone calls. I’m not sure if there is a time limit to this as there was none mentioned on the letter.
Hope this helps
My son has ASD and severe OCD. When I made a claim for his UC it went like this:
Had to take him to register with his ID.
Even though I was already his appointee I had to become his appointee again for the purposes of UC as it came under a different section.
He then had an appointment with a work coach where I handed in his first fit note. The work coach was lovely and very knowledgable about my son’s disabilities. She turned off all the commitments on his account and the only thing required was to hand in the fit notes every 3 months and for me to have a 5 minute call with the work coach every 3 months. It was over a year before I received his UC50 pack which I completed following the guides. I then had to take him for an assessment. The assessor really grilled me for about 15 minutes and then ended abruptly by telling me he now had enough information. I remember being quite surprised by this as was expecting to be there for at least an hour and he had only asked me about the OCD and nothing about ASD. The assessor explained it as 3 cups he had to fill, and once all the cups were full he didn’t need to go any further as the information was sufficient to make his report. After the assessment we had the result in less than a week and he was placed in the lcwra group. Once that happened we no longer had to provide fit notes or have phone calls. I’m not sure if there is a time limit to this as there was none mentioned on the letter.
Hope this helps
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3 years 11 months ago #259082 by Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gary on topic Claiming UC - young disabled lad?
Hi Buster
We cannot answer your question as we do not have enough information.
You can find your local Welfare Rights Organisation to help you with advice by clicking on the link below and putting in your post code, it will then come up with a MAP with a list of agencies.
advicelocal.uk
Gary
We cannot answer your question as we do not have enough information.
You can find your local Welfare Rights Organisation to help you with advice by clicking on the link below and putting in your post code, it will then come up with a MAP with a list of agencies.
advicelocal.uk
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: buster21
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3 years 11 months ago #259104 by buster21
Replied by buster21 on topic Claiming UC - young disabled lad?
Thank you Flora. Very interesting account of your own experience - many thanks.
Buster
Buster
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