The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Abdul Miah
[2024] EWCA Civ 186
PR v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
29 November 2023
[2023] UKUT 290 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal
A woman was unfairly denied part of her Universal Credit for three months. The court ruled this was illegal discrimination and ordered the money be paid. The court also decided her claim should start earlier, as she wasn't told her other benefits were ending soon enough to claim Universal Credit in time.
Key Facts
- •The appellant was denied the LCWRA element of Universal Credit for the first three months of her claim due to regulation 28(1) of the UC Regulations.
- •The appellant argued this discriminated against her under Article 14 of the ECHR, read with A1P1.
- •The appellant's ESA award ended around October 24-26, 2020, and she claimed Universal Credit shortly after.
- •The issue of 'backdating' the Universal Credit claim to coincide with the end of her ESA award was also addressed.
Legal Principles
Article 14 of the ECHR, read with A1P1, prohibits discrimination.
ECHR
Regulation 28(1) of the UC Regulations governs the payment of the LCWRA element in the first three months of a Universal Credit claim.
UC Regulations
Regulations 26(2) and 26(3) of the UC (C&P) Regulations govern the backdating of Universal Credit claims.
UC (C&P) Regulations
Outcomes
Regulation 28(1) of the UC Regulations was found to be discriminatory and disapplied.
It unlawfully denied the appellant payment of the LCWRA element for the first three months of her claim, contrary to Article 14 ECHR.
The appellant's Universal Credit claim was backdated to October 18, 2020.
Regulations 26(2) and 26(3)(a) of the UC (C&P) Regulations were satisfied as the appellant could not reasonably have been expected to claim earlier given the circumstances of her ESA award ending.