Surrey Welfare Rights Unit

Who is this course for?

This introduction to Limited Capability for Work and Work-related activity (LCW/LCWRA) is for advisers with a general understanding of Universal Credit, and their supervisors who are looking for an overall understanding of how a LCW/LCWRA status affects entitlement to Universal Credit and New-Style Employment and Support Allowance.

Aims

It will provide advisers and their supervisors with a comprehensive overview of LCW, its advantages for claimants, suggestions for how advisers can improve the chances of an award, and issues to look out for. This course does not discuss specific LCW or LCWRA descriptors. There is a separate course covering the descriptors in greater detail in the context of the UC50/ESA50 forms and also a course on challenging decisions.

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates should understand:

• What LCW/LCWRA is and why it is important
• Who should consider claiming NSESA or requesting a UC work capability assessment
• The basic rules of entitlement for NSESA and the route to National Insurance Credits for LCW
• The benefits of a LCW and/or LCWRA determination and how to get one
• The circumstances in which no WCA is permitted
• When a claimant may be treated as having, or treated as NOT having, LCW/LCWRA
• How a LCW/LCWRA determination affects a UC claim

A complete set of slides will be provided at the end of the course.