With the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) currently pressing ahead with the issuing of around 83,000 migration notices per month asking income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ir-ESA)claimants to move to Universal Credit (UC), we’re taking a look at how the process is going.
On the whole, the majority of people who received a migration notice to move from ir-ESA to UC seem to be finding their claim is going through smoothly. If you’ve used our Managed Migration guide, you may have come up against some of the pitfalls we highlighted, but we’ve had reports from members that they’ve been able to use the information within it to challenge errors by the DWP.
There are some issues that seem to be coming up for quite a few claimants, so we want to highlight the most common of these:
Work-related activity or support component not transferring to UC
The component that you currently have within your ESA claim should transfer automatically to UC without any need to submit fit notes or go through a work capability assessment. If you have the work-related activity component, this automatically becomes the Limited Capability for Work (LCW) element of UC, and the support component becomes the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) element.
Whilst the DWP seem to have ironed out earlier issues where people migrating from ir-ESA were being asked to supply fit notes, many claimants have reported the LCW or LCWRA element being missing from their first UC payment.
The underlying problem is a special form called an MGP1 that is completed by the DWP to confirm the claimant has an existing award of the work-related activity or support component that needs to be transferred to UC. This form has to be verified by the DWP’s Move to UC team but delays in this happening, almost certainly due to the huge numbers of claims now being processed, mean that some claimants are finding the LCW or LCWRA element isn’t included in their first payment when it should be.
If this happens to you, request a mandatory reconsideration of the decision using your journal (or via the UC helpline if you have a telephone claim). You can also make an online complaint to Universal Credit here: https://makeacomplaint.dwp.gov.uk/
Mysteriously appearing ‘New-Style’ ESA
In the old system, there were two types of ESA: contribution-based (based on your personal national insurance contributions) and income-related (which contained premiums for special situations and was paid as a couple if you have a partner). Only the income-related type of ESA is moving to UC.
Some people had ‘mixed’ ESA awards where they received contribution-based ESA with a ‘top-up’ of income-related ESA. Not all claimants were aware that their award was partly made up of contribution-based ESA, so this has come as a surprise when they have moved to UC. Contribution-based ESA automatically morphs into ‘New-Style’ ESA, which is deducted £ for £ from your UC award.
If you are one of the people whose ESA was made up in this way, you might get payments of New-Style ESA that you weren’t expecting during the migration process and then a lower amount of UC that you thought you would (although your overall amount of benefit should be the same).
If you are unsure whether your first month’s payment of UC is correct, you can contact Citizen Advice’s Help to Claim Service (or your local advice centre) for help.
ir-ESA continues for longer than it should
When you make your claim for UC, your ESA should continue for two weeks and then stop. This money should not affect your UC. But some claimants have been reporting that they have received their ir-ESA for longer than these two weeks. If this happens, the extra ir-ESA does count as income for your UC and can be deducted from your first payment. You might spot this because it will appear as a deduction in the breakdown of your UC payment. But it can’t also be claimed back from you by ESA.
If UC aren’t aware you have continued to receive extra ir-ESA during your first month on UC, they may not deduct it. When they correct this later, you will have been overpaid UC in your first assessment period and that will unfortunately be recoverable from your future payments. You can, however, negotiate the rate of repayment by contacting DWP Debt Management.
Don’t despair!
Although we have highlighted three key problems that are arising, these are only happening for some claimants and the vast majority of people seem to be having few issues with their move. For a more detailed guide to the migration process, do have a look at the ESA to UC Managed Migration Guide in our members’ area.
And if your experience has been different, please do share in the comments section below.
