Helen Grater started claiming Carer’s Allowance and took unpaid leave from her job at the supermarket after her partner Mark Young was diagnosed with throat cancer
A woman was told to pay back almost £6,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after she took on an extra shift at Sainsbury’s while caring for her seriously unwell partner.
Helen Grater started claiming Carer’s Allowance in 2018 and took unpaid leave from her job at the supermarket after her partner Mark Young was diagnosed with throat cancer. When she returned to work, she was able to do three shifts a week while still caring for Mark, who also has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and was undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the time.
But the DWP started an investigation and ordered Ms Grater to pay back £5,738.40 after ruling her claim for Carer’s Allowance was fraudulent. The DWP said Ms Grater did not tell them about taking on a third shift at work, but she believed she did not need to notify them because her Universal Credit had been reduced automatically.
She told The Guardian: “I couldn’t believe it. You expect a safety net to be there for when you call on it. There was a safety net but [with] a huge gaping hole in it which I fell straight through.” Mr Young was given the all-clear from cancer two months ago.
There is currently an earnings allowance of £151 a week when claiming Carer’s Allowance, which is worth £81.90 a week if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week. If you breach this limit, you won’t be eligible for the benefit. The limit was £120 a week when Ms Grater was claiming Carer’s Allowance.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We are committed to fairness in the welfare system, with safeguards in place for managing repayments, while protecting the public purse. Claimants have a responsibility to inform DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award, and it is right that we recover taxpayers’ money when this has not occurred.”
