If you claim UC because you are unable to work due to sickness or disability, you will need to obtain and supply a fit note to the Jobcentre from your GP confirming your medical condition. You can certify that you are sick for the first 7 days without a fit note.
Once UC receive your fit note, you will begin a process which will ultimately determine whether you are expected to look for work or perform work-related activity as part of your UC requirements. For most people the process is:
- Submit medical evidence (fit note)
- Complete a UC50 form
- Be assessed by a health professional under the Work Capability Assessment (WCA)
If you are moving to UC from income-related ESA or you are claiming UC alongside the contributory version of ESA, any determination you have had for ESA should transfer to your UC claim and therefore you should not initially need to attend a WCA or complete a UC50 form. However, your claim may be reviewed in the future or if you have a change in circumstances.
Some other people can be found to automatically have Limited Capability for Work (LCW) and/or Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) and therefore not need to go through a WCA. This can include people who are terminally ill (who should be found to have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity as soon as they provide evidence of terminal illness to UC), people in hospital, those receiving certain treatments. See this Benefits and Work guide for further details.
For anyone else, whilst you are awaiting assessment, you will be subject to work-related requirements, although you can ask your work coach to modify your claimant commitment due to your health condition.
Around a month after you submit your first fit note, you will be sent a self-assessment Capability for Work questionnaire – UC50 - to complete. It is a test of your ability to perform certain activities and points are awarded based on your ability to carry them out. If you have previously been on ESA, you may recognise the UC50 as being the same as the ESA50 forms you may have completed for your claim. You normally have four weeks to return the form to the Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS).
If it is not returned by this deadline, you will be treated as being capable of work, unless you can show that you have good cause for not returning the questionnaire.
Once the UC50 has been returned, you are likely to be required to attend a medical assessment carried out by a health professional. This may be held face-to-face, over the telephone or via a video call. For information on to how to prepare for your assessment, see our guide here
One of the main problems that claimants with health issues experience when claiming UC is a delay in the issuing of the UC50 form. If you have not received this within a couple of months of starting to provide fit notes, we would suggest you chase this on your journal and make a compliant if necessary.
