The government has amended some welfare regulations to make it easier for disabled people to try out work opportunities with less risk of losing benefit income as a result.
The amendments are known as the “right to try”. Broadly, they amend the law so doing paid or voluntary work is not treated as a “relevant change of circumstances”, which previously required the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to reassess a claimant’s benefit entitlement.
The DWP says the move “supports people to test their ability to work in a safe and predictable way”.
The changes apply to disabled people who get one of the following:
- Personal independence payment (PIP)
- Universal credit, where the claimant has been assessed as having limited capability for work (LCW) or limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA)
- New-style employment and support allowance (ESA), where the claimant has been placed in one of two categories: the work-related activity group (WRAG) or the support group.
The people most likely to benefit are those claiming LCW or in the WRAG. They are normally expected to look for paid work and/or make steps to increase their chances of securing this.
If a disabled claimant has LCWRA status or is in the support group (because their disability or health condition has more severe effects on their ability to complete certain activities), they are not required to carry out any activity to bring them closer to employment. However, they should be able to get help with seeking work from the job centre if they wish.
It is worth noting that claimants waiting for their first work capability assessment for an existing ESA or universal credit claim cannot benefit from the amended rules.
Work deterrent
There had been a common and natural concern among disabled people claiming incapacity and/or disability benefits that taking or trying out any type of work may lead to them coming to the attention of DWP officers.
The worry was that if they did any work activities, it will be assumed that their support need has reduced or their health condition improved and they are capable of work so no longer meet the conditions to keep their ESA or universal credit (where the latter has been claimed on the grounds of having limited capability for work).
Although PIP can be awarded regardless of a disabled person’s employment status, PIP claimants also worried that taking work could affect their entitlement.
The concerns about work leading to a loss of or reduction in benefits were not only around losing primary cash payments. They were also about the impact on other benefits, such as housing benefit, as well as on those claimed by a carer (because a disabled person must have the PIP daily living component before their carer can qualify for carer’s allowance).
Step in the right direction
Right to try should be seen as a positive step. The campaigning charity Disability Rights UK has welcomed the changes. Nonetheless, it also highlighted that they will lead to more disabled people gaining long-term, sustainable employment only if adequate support systems are in place.
The most significant support system is Access to Work. Disabled people who are working or trying to move into work often rely on its practical and financial support to make it possible to do a paid job.
Certain rules around work and claiming benefits will not change. This includes those around permitted and voluntary work.
The people most likely to benefit are those expected to look for paid work and/or make steps to increase their chances of securing this
Claimants may still face reassessments of their benefit entitlement. A reassessment could happen if there is a change in their condition, a clear improvement in their functional ability or any suspicion of fraud around the benefit claim.
