Three weeks post-Christmas, Guy Shahar and his wife, Oksana Shahar, were shocked by a startling letter they received.
The couple had been closely following a series of reports by the Guardian on the carer’s allowance issue, which had financially and legally impacted numerous families. They never anticipated they would be among those affected.
Unexpected Notice
The letter was stark and to the point, stating, “Important: You have received an overpayment in carer’s allowance, and you are required to repay this amount.”
They were dumbfounded by the amount demanded for repayment: £10,180.45.
“This can’t be accurate,” Guy, aged 53, remarked, convinced there had been some error. However, it was confirmed that there had been no mistake. The Shahar family had unknowingly exceeded a strict earnings threshold, leading to a significant debt owed to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This situation bore similarities to the notorious Post Office scandal.
Oksana, also 53, had surpassed the earnings limit by a mere average of £1.92 weekly while balancing her roles as a school dinner lady and a zero-hours employee at Sports Direct, alongside caring for their 15-year-old autistic son, Daniel.
Even minor excesses, such as earning 38p above the limit in some weeks, obligated her to repay £64.60 for each occurrence, based on the prevailing carer’s allowance rate.
Stringent Rules and Severe Penalties
The rules permit unpaid carers to work provided their earnings do not cross the weekly threshold of £196. Surpassing this limit by even a penny results in the repayment of the entire week’s carer’s allowance, amounting to a penalty of £83.30 per infraction.
This harsh “cliff-edge” rule has been criticized as “cruel and nonsensical” and “perverse” following a Guardian investigation that revealed how many carers fell into this trap, incurring large debts and in some cases, criminal records.
As recent as February, close to 100,000 UK carers were found to be repaying amounts up to £20,000 after having breached these earnings rules, per the latest figures.
An analysis of five years of Oksana’s earnings indicated that she was under the limit for three years, slightly over by an average of 83p weekly for another year, leading to a demand for £1,938 in repayment for that year. Over the span of these five years, she earned a total of £505 more than allowed—an average of £1.92 per week. Yet, the DWP demanded a repayment of £10,130.45, including a £50 “civil penalty.”
“This is going to ruin us financially,” expressed Guy, founder of the charity Transforming Autism. “It feels so fundamentally unfair; it’s hard to believe it could actually proceed in any ethical system.”
Delayed Notifications and Continued Failures
The DWP’s failure to promptly notify the Shahars of the overpayments meant they were unaware of the issue until seven years after the discrepancies began. By the time they were informed in January 2023, the debt had significantly accumulated.
In 2019, Peter Schofield, a senior official at the DWP, assured MPs that delays causing massive unintended debts would be addressed. However, six years later, the problem persists.
“They never once alerted us,” Guy lamented. “They let the debt accumulate and then hit us with this huge fine over six years later. I feel profoundly let down.”
The DWP typically considers a carer’s average earnings when determining rule breaches, but in Oksana’s case, they based their decision on her weekly earnings, a method previously criticized by tribunal judges as unfair.
“It feels like the benefits system is designed to trap us,” Shahar remarked. “It subjects families to long-term debt, anxiety, and worsens our mental health, leaving us worse off than before.”
Call for Reform and Current Appeals
Following the Guardian’s investigative reports, Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, commissioned an independent inquiry into the carer’s allowance, led by former Disability Rights UK chief executive Liz Sayce, with findings expected soon.
The DWP announced an increase in staff to address the backlog of cases involving carers who unknowingly exceeded the earnings limit. Meanwhile, the Shahar family’s appeal against the £10,000 fine was rejected, and they are awaiting the outcome of a second challenge.
Expressing his frustration, Guy described the government’s actions as “unfair persecution” that threatened the very foundation of their simple, fragile life.
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, has called for the DWP to cancel debts in cases like the Shahars’ and emphasized the need for a comprehensive reform of the system.
A DWP spokesperson stated, “We have paused the recovery of Mrs. Shahar’s overpayment pending the outcome of her appeal. We acknowledge the challenges many carers face, which is why we have initiated an independent review of the carer’s allowance to understand how such overpayments occur and to explore potential changes.”
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