Managed migration – readers experiences

Details: Published: 04 October 2024

Have you been through the universal credit (UC) managed migration process or are you going through it right now?

Could you share your experiences with other readers?

You may have had a very straightforward migration and your positive result will be encouraging for others waiting to be moved.

Or you may have encountered difficulties which it would be helpful for readers to know about in advance, so that they can be prepared for them.

We have a growing number of resources for members being migrated from employment and support allowance (ESA) to UC on our ESA/UC guides page. But we know that there is no substitute for hearing from people who are further along the route than you are.

So, please do share your story in the comments section below – it may make a real difference to your fellow claimants.

In your comment, any of the following details will help us to try to find a pattern to who is being migrated first:

details of which benefit(s) you were migrated from,
whether you were in the ESA support group or LCW group,
roughly when it happened, or whether it is still happening now,
roughly what area of the country you live in,
the first letter of your surname

Please only comment on this article if you are sharing your experience of migrating or asking a question from someone who has shared - other comments won't be published here.

More general comments can be posted at ESA to UC managed migration has begun

Comments

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People in conversation:

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clearwater · 1 months ago
Re Managed Migration, for clarity

If you move on to UC from ESA and have already been assessed as having limited capability for work you will not have to undertake the assessment again.

If you were in the ESA work related activity group (WRAG) you will be put in the UC LCW group.
If you were receiving the extra WRAG amount in ESA you will get the extra LCW amount in UC.

If you were in the ESA support group you will be put in the UC LCWRA group and awarded the UC LCWRA element.

Also If you're moving to UC from the ESA Support - LCWRA or WRAG - LCW group, you do not need to provide a fit note.
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The Dogmother · 1 months ago
I don't know know if this was mentioned anywhere else on here.
But this is what I've learned about moving from Esa Support group to UC. I've seen numerous posts of ppl asking what to do about fit notes and if they are needed,here's the answer..... If you are migrating across from esa sg, you do not need fit notes. The request on your journal for them is an automatic one,as its not set up to deal with migration of SG , you need to put this , "As I am migrating from esa support group I transfer to the equivalent group on UC under Reg 19 and request that you send Esa the MGP1 form.Therefore I need no fitness. (Don't be sending Fit notes as this will trigger a reassessment, the system thinks your a new claiment)
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  Vicky · 28 days ago
  
  Sorry MGP1 form **
  
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  HRH · 1 months ago
  
  @The Dogmother thanks for the info🙏
  in my experience if the DWP can play ‘dumb’ they will so it may be wise to add
  
  Under Regulation 19 of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014, i am entitled to financial transitional protection and their is no legal requirement for me to provide a fit note as I am in the ESA support group
  
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  T · 1 months ago
  
  @The Dogmother Thank you for saying how to say about already being in the support group. I'm going to say it the way you said.
  I'm dreading doing this migration and the not knowing when is just as bad,, right now (although I'll probably change my mind a million times) I just want the postman to post the migration letter and just get it out of the way.
  I know my ESA support group is up for renewal next month (praying for a referral but somehow I'm never lucky enough for getting one),, and as pip seems to send a year early I'll probably get a pip renewal form in January,, with UC migration too I feel like my head and heart is going to explode..
  I'm going to have to have my medication increased again thanks to this , it's already very high doseges. I was relatively stable too until all this stress and worrying.
  Apologies for the speech !!
  
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  The Dogmother · 1 months ago
  
  @The Dogmother I need no fit notes* that should say.
  
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David · 1 months ago
Excellent and concise advice Micksville. Thank you
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micksville · 1 months ago
Might be an idea to also include the first letter of surname to gauge if this process is being done in alphabetical order of surnames and also if you were due a normal review of ESA around the time of your migration notice, this to gauge if it's being done roughly around the dates of reviews already proposed
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wibblum · 1 months ago
Just to repeat HRH's request, could people please also tell us which area they live in?

Seeing as Starmer's Grifters And Liggers Social Club isn't prepared to release any actual details about the UC roll-out to us, it looks like we're going to have to try and work out for ourselves if this first wave is a geographically-targeted pilot or not.
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  Jon · 1 months ago
  
  @wibblum Nottingham surname begins with h received migration notice ten days ago
  
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wibblum · 1 months ago
Can anyone tell us exactly how hard a time you'll have claiming UC if you don't have 'acceptable' photo ID such as a passport or driver's license?
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  tony horse · 1 months ago
  
  @wibblum Wife had same problem no passport or driving license. Had to go to jobcentre with things like outdated passport, bank card, birth certificate , bill with her name and address on it- you didnt need all these, it didnt take long and they accepted the ID. You probably just need to be prepared to go to the Jobcentre with other ID and then should be fine.
  
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sam · 1 months ago
i have just gone from esa to uc and it was very difficult to understand at first, you get offered an advance payment so try to keep some of that and pay some off your rent as two weeks later u get your last payment from esa and then you have to go three more weeks without no money they write to you on the journal but can take days to reply back to u. don’t panic to much they as for a fitnote but that’s while their waiting for your claim to go over from esa the day they shut your claim the next day uc get all your information. then they also offer you another advance payment but that’s got to checked by yourself on your journel so keep an eye on that. you will get into rent arrears and i don’t agree with that and also having to pay back the advance payment. just make sure you make it affordable for yourself to pay it back. if you stress to much over it then seek help
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  Bobdole · 1 months ago
  
  @sam If you're moving to universal credit from the support group, you don't need to provide a fit note. The government's own website even confirms this. You don't need to provide a fit note if: you move from esa to uc without a break, you have already completed a wca and if you were in wrag or support group when you moved to uc.
  Unfortunately the DWP are literally so incompetent, they don't even know how their own system works!
  
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  micksville · 1 months ago
  
  @sam As per the advice from B and W
  Will I have to provide a fit note or prove I am unfit for work if I am
  moving to UC from ESA?
  No, if you have already been assessed for ESA (and put into the work-related activity or support
  groups), you will not have to provide a fit note when you move to Universal Credit.
  We have heard of cases of work coaches telling people who are receiving ESA and claiming UC
  as a top up, or who are moving to UC from ESA, that they need to start providing fit notes. This
  can cause difficulties with the person’s GP, who will have been told by ESA to stop providing fit
  notes once the person was found incapable of work.
  Regulation 40 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 confirms that someone has limited
  capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) for UC if they have been found to have
  LCWRA for either UC or ESA (the support component). The equivalent rule for people who have
  been found to have limited capability for work (LCW) can be found in Universal Credit
  Regulation 39.
  The DWP’s Advice for Decision Makers (their guidance to their staff) also confirms that if
  someone moves under managed migration, their work capability assessment decision from ESA
  moves with them (paragraph M6192 for the work-related activity component and paragraph
  M6195-6 for the support component).
  
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  micksville · 1 months ago
  
  @sam I'm assuming yours was a managed migration? Also, were you in the support group of ESA?I ask this as Benefits and work have advised via the forum that if in SG you should go directly into the UC equivalent of SG and not need a fit note. I did read one B and W member saying the work coach online had demanded a fit note but again the advice given was to contact, via your journal, the case manager instead as they are more conversant with the rules and regs surrounding fit notes
  
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HRH · 1 months ago
would it be possible to add the area you live in so we can get a sense of the pattern of ESA migrations?
thank you
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Zainab · 1 months ago
The application process is pretty straightforward (if you are comfortable doing it online), but I had to wait for more than two weeks to get my first UC payment.
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