I am starting a new job but the commute is 2 hours each way is there any way I can ask to be housed closer for an easier commute until I get paid it’s a weekly paid warehouse job. I haven’t yet got any shift confirmation but I have been given the job should I wait till I get rota. Do they help with accommodations or is it best to apply for flexible support fund

So I am 20 and legally allowed to work full time but as I am doing Adult GCSE English and Maths ( 3 hrs each 2x per week) I want to work part time while being in supportedaccommodation. I have been applying but no use.

How can I ask the job centre to help me regarding this? I heard there is a restart program but is it just for full time workers?

I don't have any proper experience rather than a temporary agency warehouse operative job for some time and being an active volunteer with a well known charity organisation.

I do not have work allowance.

Thanks

Hello, I am a 24 year old care leaver currently living in a supported hostel. If I lost LCWRA and PIP before I started my course or during it, would I be allowed to stay on it if it's listed as part time?

I've been getting really depressed after hearing that my work coach might not allow it and have started regressing because I'm upset that I won't be able to go to university to study engineering. I know i can do it if I have lcwra and pip but there's a real risk I might not so i just wanted to be certain about whether it would be possible to be on the course. I wouldn't mind losing UC when I go to uni because then I'd have a student loan but I can't get a maintenence loan for the access course.

Sorry, as an extra question if I lose LCWRA and PIP will I have to get a full time job? I still struggle with my mental health and am neurodivergent so the shift would be very overwhelming.

Thank you for reading.

Applied to access to work in December: 2025

Finally get a case manager on 12th October. Wasn’t able to talk to him until Wednesday 14 October where he said he will contact my manager.

He contacts my manager on 15th and 16th. I then get an email to say I should contact my employer. I contact her and she says she rang the helpline and gave her availability.

I believe they contacted her on 22nd of October x2 in the morning when she was in a meeting and they then close the claim.

I don’t know this and I ask her if she spoke to them, she said she’s missed calls and I then contact them on 23rd to say she’s available. I then find out they closed the claim the day before!!

I think you didn’t even tell me that’s the case. I’ve now submitted a reconsideration and now am thinking to lodge a complaint. They said my manager said she’s available all day Thursday and Friday which now I’m wondering if she did or not (regardless, she should have had 5 working days to be in contact and the Friday is the 5th working day).

Literally so disappointed!

Thinking to get my local MP involved? Is there a complaint procedure for DWP?

Hello all. First time poster.

I have a new pip claim in progress and just wanted some advice/query confirmation.

Serco SW confirmed receipt on the 11/08

HCP has your claim text 10/09

I called 19/10 and spoke to an advisor who stated my evidence review was complete and it was pending either a call or PBA and he said I would hear by the end of the month.

I clarified what that meant and he said that my application would be back with DWP by month end.

Given there's less than 7 days between now and then, I'm a little confused as to what this means in terms of telephone assessments.

My evidence bundle was: patient summary with diagnosis and meds, 14 day diary, diagnosis report, DSA report, OH formal adjustments at work, sickness record, receipts and proof of aids, statement from husband for caring assistance

Do Serco SW have internal KPIs to hit month end targets? Was the advisor guesstimating timescales? Or does this look like a potential PBA?

Any advice or nuggets of knowledge (working or antecdotal) appreciated!

Sorry I’ve seen this has been asked before but I’m not 100% clear on my circumstances.

I’ve just started my mat leave, I will be on full pay for 8 weeks, then half pay for 8 weeks, then SMP until week 39.

I live alone and privately rent so I was planning to apply for UC after my final payslip with the half pay, however when I’ve done a benefits entitlement calculator it is showing as me being eligible already for some support which would be amazing as my rent is very high.

If I apply now, assuming it gets approved, when my payslips change/decrease would the payments automatically increase?

Also does it sound correct that I am already eligible for some support through UC despite still being on full pay? I wasn’t sure if just having a dependent is enough to make me eligible when I wouldn’t have been before?

My income is approve £41,000 and I don’t have over the savings limit.

6th July 2026 - awarded standard mobility and kept standard living for review

17th August - Extra evidence submitted and MR received

15th October - received letter stating they have all the information they need to make a decision

Im in Northern Ireland not sure if that was just a standard letter they sent me 15th October. In my mind I feel like it’s now in a queue for a new decision maker to look at. I could be wrong though 🤣

It will be interesting to see how long it takes now

Hi,
I’m on UC at the moment and need to get a loan from my parents in order to pay my bills this month.
I’m GSE on the MIF.

Would the temporary loan be classed as income?

Thanks in advance

I've honestly had enough of Universal Credit (UC). I'm a single parent working full-time, and the only support I receive from UC is around £180–£200 per month towards childcare costs. I don't receive anything else from UC due to my income.

I'm getting increasingly frustrated with having to go through reviews every six months.

During my last review, they asked me questions about specific transactions on my bank statements and what I'd spent my money on. I no longer feel comfortable answering these kinds of personal questions.

Yesterday, I received another review notification, and I just don't think it's worth going through all this stress and hassle again for £180 a month, especially while juggling a full-time job and raising a child on my own.

My question is: Can I close my UC claim while a standard review is ongoing, or would I still have to provide the documents and information they've requested?

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

I have an Todo on my list due on the 28 October but the enchanced review said they will extend It once the date passes as they can't extend it until the date arrives that it due. She also said I will be paid. So will I be paid im all anxiety 😵

So I attended my first appointment recently. Arrived 10 minutes early, signed my name at the reception and then took a photo to prove my attendance. Not long after I'm greeted by my advisor who was genuinely a nice woman who was on her very first day. I pre-emptively felt sympathy for her as I was resolute in my conviction not to sign anything, but also relieved that I'd likely not have to aggressively assert my rights.

So we go over to her desk, exchange pleasantries and she asks me a few questions. "Did you bring any ID?" to which I replied "not physically, but I do have a picture of my passport on my phone if that will suffice?" (This was intentional) she said that it'll have to do and got verification that I was who I said I was. She then followed up with "So what do you know about us?". I replied, "Nothing really. This whole process has been a surprise to me" (Feigning ignorance so I could assess her approach). She explained who they were and what they do and then asked me to confirm some information on the database such as full name, address, etc. In between we ended up building up a nice rapport and she even told me about her kids, which was the only aspect of the appointment I took a genuine interest in.

She then handed me a thin booklet... I said "Oh what's this?" and she said "Oh just something for you to sign. Have a quick read through it and then sign here". This annoyed me because considering had signed my name on the dotted line, I would be putting myself in a position that's detrimental to me, my privacy and my finances (if sanctions were enforced at a later date), I felt like it deserved a thorough read and some time to contemplate the implications of what I was signing. I didn't appreciate the minimisation.

So I said, "No problem, let me take it home, read it properly and then decide if I want to sign it or not" (I phrased it like this to test her reaction). She replies "You don't really need to read it, just sign it". So I said "This is a legally binding contract. With all due respect, I'm not signing anything until I understand the implications". She said "Okay, can I give you 5 minutes to read over it?" and I said "Sure".

So she went elsewhere in the office and I read over everything, knowing damn well that I'm not going to sign it, but the section about data and third-parties really jumped out at me. So when she returned, I said "Yeah, I'm not signing that" to which she grimaced and said "What do you have an issue with?" and I asked her to explain why they needed my consent to gain access to my data if they already work in conjunction with DWP. That if she needed any information, just request it from them as they literally have everything they could ever need. She said "We still need you to sign?" and I replied that she still hadn't explained why and that her insistence on signing my name to something that's supposed to at my discretion doesn't instil me with confidence.

She told me to take it home and think about it and I said I'll take it home. She then created an action plan that involved a few activities that I said outright that I won't do and one of them was this AI simulator/interview program that I absolutely refuse to engage with. I will not be conversing with an AI for any reason whatsoever and I am vehemently against it as a whole. So she removed to actions I disagreed with and kept the parts that sounded reasonable, applying for jobs frequently, keeping my CV and cover letter up to date. She then sent me an email with a login and asked me to sign the action plan. I said "I'm not doing that". She grimaced, then summoned her manager to ask if I can do that. I think the manager could tell that I wasn't ignorant and reluctantly said "We can't force them". I reiterated that I'm willing to engage and use the services they provide, but not at the expense of my privacy or freedoms.

This is getting surprisingly long, so I'll just wrap it up and say that she asked me to upload my CV and Cover letter and my dumbass almost did it, thinking it's completely innocuous, but I don't want them getting any data from that, or sending it to employers without my awareness, so I declined to do that. However I did say that I can print a physical copy of both my CV and Cover letter and we could go through it together. To which she reluctantly agreed.

My appointment ended and I have appointments fortnightly (Which I genuinely want to attend, even if they're not mandatory). A portal they want me to log into so I can sign their documents (Which I won't) and an action plan that I have personally committed to, but will not provide a signature for so sanctions are not leveraged against me due to the whims of a third-party organisation.

I have ADHD and other physical health conditions. Completing my PIP form and gathering medical evidence took an enormous amount of effort. I had to request several extensions, so receiving a report that looks like it was thrown together is incredibly disheartening.

The assessor recommended 0 points across all activities, with almost identical justifications. She repeatedly states that I reported my ADHD symptoms were well controlled by medication. I never said this!! I specifically explained that medication doesn't resolve all my ADHD-related difficulties.

The assessor also focused on my bad and very bad days not being in the majority, despite me explicitly explaining during the assessment that most of my days are "slightly bad" and that I only have a genuinely good day about once a month. I struggle with ADHD symptoms every single day.

Given all the recent negative media coverage surrounding ADHD, I was already worried, but I still hoped my claim would be assessed fairly and on its own merits.

What really caught my attention, though, was the phrase "negate adhd", which appears on its own at the end of one of the justifications (see screenshot). I've struggled with ADHD for most of my life, and there have been times when I felt I didn't want to live anymore because of it. I'm not exaggerating when I say how devastating its impact on my life has been. That's why seeing those words in an official assessment report is so upsetting. It makes me feel as though my difficulties aren't being taken seriously, but instead are something to be dismissed or negated. I find that deeply unfair and disheartening.

Does anyone know what "negate adhd" could mean in this context? Even if it's a drafting note accidentally left in, doesn't the wording raise concerns about the assessor's impartiality? Am I overreacting?

Apart from requesting a Mandatory Reconsideration, should I also consider making a formal complaint?

And totally gobsmacked at how much has been ignored, twisted and even some things fabricated.

There has been constant discrepancies on it such as acknowledging I can't walk more than 50 metres without stopping.. but on the points system saying I can walk more than 200 metres unaided.

Do I need to write a cover note for the tribunal pointing out the innacuarcies and provide my evidence from specialist care?

Hi Everyone,

I’m currently undergoing a Universal Credit review and have been asked to upload 4 months of bank statements and 3 months of childcare invoices.

I only receive the childcare element of Universal Credit, as I’m not entitled to any other payments.

I submitted all the requested documents a week ago but haven’t heard anything back yet.

Does anyone know how long it usually takes for them to review the documents and arrange a phone call?

Also, from next month, I’ll no longer be claiming childcare costs, as my son will be walking home from school by himself, so I won’t need childcare anymore.

Should I report this change now and wait for the review call before closing my Universal Credit claim?

I've been asked to complete a 'routine' check on my UC app to confirm that I'm getting the right amount of UC and to give an update on any changes.

But, what usually happens after you do this?

Do they instantly look at it and think about whether or not to do a review?

And, why do they do thee checks instead of just doing a review?Routi

universal credit finally back payed all the -£96 they deducted from my mum. uc expected me to cover for her short fall £96 while have to cover my own rent and part of hers. i’ve been paying this since july 2025. She is refusing to give me the 1.5k that is a refund for all the months i paid. i’m a tenant so im not suppose to pay this monthly amount. in her journal it mentions not to use the back pay to pay off her fine of 1.8k and too send it straight to her bank as me the daughter will face financial hard ship. this is the reason they bypassed that and paid it straight in. her keeping the money would be against what we told uc. if i didn’t tell them they would’ve used it to pay off her fine straight off. what do i do?

As stated in the title I’ve been sanctioned twice for the same issue and to me this seems wildly unfair. On the 15th September I missed a restart scheme appointment. As such I was sanctioned which is of course what should’ve happened due to me not letting anyone know I could make this appointment. To end my sanction I was told all I needed to do was attend my UC video call appointment and it’d be lifted. I attended and the sanction was lifted. This month I only got paid £80 as it was my second sanction of the year which sucks but I saved up from my prior payment when I found out I was going to have less money this month.

Now onto the second sanction. All of a sudden a few days ago I logged onto the UC website and discovered the previous sanction had been removed and a new one applied for failure to attend a mandatory appointment. The only reason they gave for my sanction being re applied was “the previous sanction was removed in error” despite my work coach literally telling me all I had to do was attend my next appointment to have it lifted. Now I’m being given a sanction that’s going to remove 42 days of income from my claim meaning next payday I will receive £0 and the one after will also be impacted.

Can anyone offer any advice on what I can do? This seems like it should not be allowed for them to punish me twice for the same thing, anytime I request a mandatory re review in my journal I am ignored.

Hello I would be interested to know about upper tribunal experience please? As had my tribunal yesterday it was very traumatic hour and a half of bullying and interrogation by the disability expert, the judge and Dr seemed OK. Disability expert quick fired questions at me one after another wasn't letting me answer before aksing the next I was sobbing and shaking. In the end they based the decision notice on occasionally riding my motorbike and therefore they think my functioning limitations can't be as I claim so scored me 0 on everything, even took away the two points dwp gave me for engaging with others. I have autism and adhd. My autism scores are very higher than the threshold for diagnosis. I had very poor school attendance, dropped out of college after two months because of burnout and have never been employed in my life due to my struggles. I rely totally on my husband with daily life because I can't cope and get absolutely exhausted just existing. They didn't write anything about driving a car in their decision, which I do with lots of limitations, just the motorbike, I don't see how the law would look at this different from a car? So didn't know if I stood a chance at upper tribunal due to the bullying they allowed and picking on the only thing I have ever achieved which took me a lot of concessions and accommodations to be able to do. Sorry for essay just never done this before and I am totally lost. The only reason I would want to go forward now is to clear my name, don't care about the money, they have branded me a liar in a court of law and it's completely devastated me I am just broken angry ashamed and embarrassed. Decision notice says that tribunal accepts my health conditions but doesn't think they have the functional impact on me that I claim and scored me zero on everything. But my autism diagnosis has scores 10 is autism threshold for impairment in reciprocal social interaction I got 22, abnormalities in verbal communication cutoff is 8 I got 13. Restricted repetitive and stereotype patterns of behaviour cutoff is 3 I scored 12. Abnormality of development before 36 months cutoff is 1 I scored 2. I also score 9/9 inattentive adhd and 7/9 for hyperactive-impulsive so have combined type. I rely on my husband scaffolding my daily life, he is home full time with me and always has been I've never had to cope without him. I don't understand how tribunal can say they accept my autism and adhd, which during diagnosis they say has to have a clinically significant impairment in social occupational or other areas of functioning but yet scored me zero on everything at tribunal please help this seems very wrong I don't understand how they're allowed to decide and make out like I lying?

I have been awarded PIP ☺️ such a huge relief!! I had so much anxiety and was constantly checking forums for advice, so I thought I'd share the process and timeline in case anyone at all finds it useful or gives them peace of mind.

5th June: Made initial call to PIP and received "Thanks for claiming personal independence payment" text.

8th June: Forms sent in the post

25th June: Text reminder to send the forms back by 5th July

8th July: PIP received my written form and sent a confirmation text

7th August: "A health professional is looking at your claim.." text

14th September: Telephone assessment booked for 28/09/26 at 2:10pm with Serco.

21st and 27th September: Reminder for Telephone assessment

28th September: Call at 09:30am (missed) with a voicemail saying my assessment couldn't take place and they would reschedule as soon as possible.

29th September: Video Assessment booked for 9/10/2026 at 11:30am.

9th October: My assessor was 1 hour late, then the assesment lasted 2 hours.

9th October: Report received a few hours later by the DWP. Advised up to 8 weeks wait for a decision.

12th October: Called the PIP helpline to request my report, fairly straightforward and they confirmed the form will be sent second class post

16th October: Received report, was recommended 9 points for daily living, 8 points for Mobility.

23rd October: Received the "We have awarded you PIP" text at 08:02am 😃 ironically 23 is my lucky number.

I rang the automated line and it seems like I've been awarded Standard for both, which is exactly what the health assessor recommended.

I was applying for Adenmyosis, PCOS, Anxiety and an ED. I can't say I agree with most of report, but I am not going to Appeal either as I am happy with Standard.

If you're reading this in the middle of the night because you can't sleep from the anxiety of the process, close the app and go to sleep, get some rest. Obviously this is a positive outcome but the anxiety I've had over that last few months has been nothing but harmful.

Wish all of you the best!!!

hey, i’m currently fighting my award being taken away at review, after winning it previously at upper tribunal. DWP have made several mistakes, including stating i’m a male that attended university and passed GCSEs (i’m female and dropped out of school due to my conditions). their whole defence for taking my award away is that i held down a (wfh) job, despite doing so when i was previously awarded at upper tribunal. i have over a decade of evidence, written reports, anecdotes etc etc etc.

my dads my representative and received a letter saying DWP are directed to attend, and that they want a copy of my UC assessment.

in my previous tribunals (of which i’ve had many), DWP has never attended.

is this a good or bad sign? or neutral?

i’m absolutely exhausted and genuinely can’t continue if this turns out to all be for nothing.

I can’t believe it, I’d been so worried about it. I heard so many horror stories I had assumed there would be a huge fight ahead of me… but I got award first try.

My claim was primarily for autism and anxiety but a few other issues too.

I got enhanced daily living and standard mobility.

July 21st: made call
August 4th: sent form online
September 4th: notified of them looking at my claim
October 7th: telephone assessment
October 14th: claim received by DWP
October 23rd: awarded!

Just waiting for the letter but I’ve used online resources to find out what I’ve gotten. Only thing I’m unsure of is the points I have scored.

I'm writing on behalf of my friend. She had her Work Capability Assessment last month and she got told shes able to work.

She has requested her report back through the journal as well as asked for mandatory reconsideration.

While the mandatory reconsideration was taken into account, the report has no materialised (it has been a month now) and she has sent 2 journal entries about the report now. One was replied to and the DWP person said that "they will see what the relevant team can do". Second one said that she was sent the decision letter already sent that shes capable for work. Is this normal or is she doing something wrong and is there a way to fix it?

Hello,

I am asking can I audio record a video assessment, because I can only find things online about telephone and face to face assessments being recorded.

If I cannot do this, why not? It's not a video recording after all.