Money & rights · England
Universal Credit and the help you need
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Universal Credit can help with living costs.
Tell the benefit office how your disability affects you.
Ask for help
You can ask someone to help with a claim.
Tell the benefit office if you cannot use the online account.
Explain your health
Tell them what you find difficult.
You may need a fit note from a health professional.
Check your agreement
Your claimant commitment says what you must do.
Ask for changes if the tasks are not possible for you.
A work assessment
You may get a form called WCA50.
It asks how your health affects what you can do.
Ask for help and check the return date.
Make appointments accessible
Ask for the changes you need.
You might need more time or someone with you.
If you cannot attend
Contact the service as soon as you can.
Explain what happened.
Ask what you should do next.
If your money is reduced
A sanction is a cut to some of your payment.
You can ask for the decision to be looked at again.
If you cannot afford essentials
Ask about a hardship payment.
This usually has to be paid back.
Ask for other money and food support too.
Read the decision
Ask someone to explain the assessment result.
Check what you must do next.
Keep the letter and note any deadline.
What you can do next
You can use the worksheet to prepare.
Ask someone you choose to help if you want.
Read the DWP health and disability guide Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- DWP: disability and Universal Credit Web page
Official steps and assessment information.
- DWP: sanctions and hardship payments Web page
What to do if requirements cannot be met or payment is reduced.
- Benefits and Work: guides (paid membership) Web page
Independent information about PIP, ESA, UC, DLA and Attendance Allowance. Some information is free; detailed guides require paid membership. Not government guidance.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Universal Credit, disability and work requirements — Easy Read
Get help with fit notes, work assessments, appointments, commitments and sanctions.
England · Money, rights and support
Start with your circumstances
If you are already claiming, report the health condition or disability and explain its effect on everyday tasks and work. If you are considering a new claim while receiving other benefits, get a benefits check first: claiming Universal Credit can end benefits which you cannot simply restart. A diagnosis alone does not determine entitlement.
Get access support
If online claiming is not possible, contact the Universal Credit helpline about a phone claim. Citizens Advice Help to Claim can help with a new application. For an existing claim, ask the work coach or helpline how to manage letters, the journal and appointments accessibly. Explain the communication method and assistance you need; ask them to record it. Agree any permission needed for a helper.
Fit notes and evidence
You generally need a fit note when a health problem limits work for more than seven days, with exceptions such as some transfers from ESA. Follow the instructions about keeping evidence up to date while awaiting a decision. A fit note does not by itself remove every work-related requirement. Ask explicitly what applies to you and request a review of anything you cannot do.
Review your claimant commitment
This is the agreement recording your requirements. Explain barriers, fatigue, communication needs, travel difficulties and support that is unavailable. Ask for achievable tasks and accessible appointment arrangements. Request a copy you understand. Do not assume an unanswered request has changed the requirements: follow up and keep records.
Prepare for the Work Capability Assessment
The current questionnaire is called WCA50; older information may say UC50 or ESA50. Return the form you are sent by its deadline. Describe how tasks work in real life, including prompting, supervision, variability and risks. Use relevant care plans or professional evidence. Keep a copy. Contact the assessment provider promptly if help, an adjustment or more time is needed; an extension is not automatic.
Understand the decision
The outcome may say you are fit for work, have limited capability for work (LCW), or have limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA). These affect requirements and sometimes payment differently. LCWRA means no requirement to look for or prepare for work. Check the actual notice and ask for a benefits adviser if unclear. If you disagree, use the challenge route and deadline.
When something goes wrong
If you miss an appointment or cannot complete a task, give the reasons as soon as possible. Explain disability-related barriers, illness, inaccessible information or a failed adjustment, with evidence where available. Ask what needs doing now. If a sanction is imposed, ask for the written reasons and consider mandatory reconsideration. A service complaint is separate from challenging the benefit decision.
Money while a problem is resolved
Ask about a recoverable hardship payment if a sanction leaves you unable to meet essential needs. Check eligibility and repayment before agreeing. The food, debt and benefits guides link other help. Ask a welfare rights adviser about payment during an assessment or appeal; continuation is not automatic in every case.
Words you could use
“My disability affects these tasks: … Please review my claimant commitment, record the adjustments I need and explain what I must do while waiting for an assessment.”
More useful links
- DWP: disability and Universal Credit Web page
Official steps and assessment information.
- DWP: sanctions and hardship payments Web page
What to do if requirements cannot be met or payment is reduced.
- Benefits and Work: guides (paid membership) Web page
Independent information about PIP, ESA, UC, DLA and Attendance Allowance. Some information is free; detailed guides require paid membership. Not government guidance.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 7 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- DWP: Universal Credit health and disability guide Web page
Reporting health, fit notes, commitments and the WCA50.
- GOV.UK: after a work-capability assessment Web page
Outcomes, work requirements and further evidence.
- DWP: Universal Credit sanctions Web page
Good reasons, challenges and recoverable hardship payments.
- GOV.UK: how to claim Universal Credit Web page
Phone claims, access support and effects on existing benefits.
- GOV.UK: asking for mandatory reconsideration Web page
How to challenge a decision and provide evidence.
A page for you to fill in
You can type your answers and download a copy.
You can also print a page to write or draw on.
Someone you trust can help you.