Benefits

“I am receiving Carer’s Allowance and my husband claims ESA and PIP. It's a lot better than last year when all we were living on was statutory sick pay and working tax, which was not a lot.”
LUPUS UK have a range of publications produced by an external organisation - Benefits & Work. The informative guides cover a range of issues relating to disability and benefits. These guides are available free of charge to Members of LUPUS UK upon request. If you are a member and require a guide, please email [email protected] requesting the guide(s) you'd like to receive.

Please note, due to the size of the guides unfortunately we are unable to provide physical copies. The cost of printing and postage is too high. You will receive the guides as a digital pdf file.
The guides we have available are;

Personal Independence Payments (PIP)
1. Guide to PIP Claims and Reviews
1b. I've been awarded PIP - What else can I claim?
1c. Guide to PIP appeals
1d. The Best Possible Support for Clients with PIP Mandatory Reconsiderations & Appeals
1e. PIP Mandatory Reconsideration and Appeal Submissions
1f. Ways to challenge a PIP medical report

Attendance Allowance Claims
2. The Best Possible Attendance Allowance Claims on Physical Health Grounds

DLA Claims
3. Disability Living Allowance Claims For Children On Physical or Mental Health Grounds
7. Claiming Disability Living Allowance On Dual Diagnosis Grounds

DLA Medical
8. 70 Questions You’re Likely To Be Asked At Your DLA Medical
9. Letter from Chris Grayling, minister for employment, confirming that claimants can ask to have their DLA medical recorded provided it takes place at a medical examination centre rather than in the claimant's home

DLA Appeals
10. The Best Possible Ways To Challenge A DLA Or AA Medical Report
11. The Best Possible Support For Clients With DLA and AA Appeals
12. Appealing Against A Disability Living Allowance Decision
13. Giving Persuasive Information About How Far You Can Walk
14. Challenging The Claim A Bottle Or Commode Will Replace The Need For Help

DLA Changes & Renewals
15. Disability Living Allowance Renewal Claims
16. Changes Of Circumstances For People Claiming Disability Living Allowance

DLA Briefs
17. Sample Letter from claimant to decision maker requesting reconsideration because of additional evidence, DLA.

Other Resources for DLA
18. Attendance Allowance medical report form - A copy of the medical report form completed by doctors carrying out AA medicals
19. Disability Living Allowance medical report form - A copy of the medical report form completed by doctors carrying out DLA medicals

ESA and UC Claims & Appeals
20. Being transferred from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance
21. Understanding Employment and Support Allowance
22. Employment & Support Allowance and Universal Credit Claims On Physical Health Grounds
23. Employment & Support Allowance and Universal Credit Claims On Mental Health Grounds
24. Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals
25. A Brief Guide To Moving From Employment and Support Allowance To Universal Credit
26. Permitted Work And Working While On Universal Credit Due To Sickness Or Disability
27. Ways To Prevent And Overturn ESA Sanctions
28. Sample Letter asking for your medical to be recorded
29. WCA Handbook - 194 page guide to carrying out work capability assessments for use by healthcare professionals. There are references to extracts from this Handbook throughout the guides to claiming, alerting you to areas where you may be incorrectly assessed and telling you what to do about it.

General Benefits Info
30. Get better treatment from the DWP
31. Getting help with your benefits
32. Atos Complaints Procedures Guide - Atos' own guidance on how complaints should be dealt with.

Work
33. Permitted Work - An explanation of the different types of paid work claimants can undertake without it affecting the finding that they are incapable of work.
34. Knowing your rights at Pathways to Work (work-focused) Interviews - This guide sets out the minimum level of participation required of claimants at Pathways to Work (work-focused) interviews and what you can and can't be required to do.
35. Caution! It May Not Count as Voluntary Work - This guide sets out some of the possible pitfalls for claimants in undertaking voluntary work and explains how to avoid them.
36. Am I covered by the Disability Discrimination Act? - A guide explaining who is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.
37. Reasonable Adjustments: Employers and Jobseekers - An explanation of your right to reasonable adjustments as a disabled employee or jobseeker.

All of these guides are available to help you understand the process of claiming and appealing and also what is expected from you. If you need further assistance with a claim, contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

Not all lupus patients will necessarily be eligible for benefits, since lupus presents differently in everybody. Your entitlement will be decided by how your condition affects your ability to carry out certain tasks.

Disability Benefits Workshops

At the start of 2021, LUPUS UK teamed up with Chronic Creatives, a disability organisation, to present a short series of workshops about disability benefits. The workshops help people with lupus learn about disability benefits they are eligible to apply for and the best possible way to apply for the aid.

WATCH THE RECORDED SEMINARS HERE
seAp (an independent charity providing free independent and confidential advocacy services) has developed a new online resource called 'C-App' to help people with disabilities or long term physical or mental health conditions apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

The sites walk you through how to apply for ESA or PIP and the assessment process involved so you’ll know what to expect. They also let you try answering the sorts of questions that get asked in the assessment processes so that you can get a sense of the points you will need to get across.

To access the site:
CLICK HERE