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Independent resettlement & recruitment guide for serving Armed Forces & Veterans

Make your claim with care

Make your claim with care

ARTICLES

27 May, 2021

Don’t let queries or rejection slow down your claim – get it right first time!

ELCAS deals with many claims that have to be queried or rejected: almost 20% of claims received fail to comply with the correct procedures. You can help to streamline the system by avoiding these common pitfalls.

Some of the main reasons for rejection

  • Applicants enrolling on a course – and sometimes paying a fee – without first obtaining the necessary Claim Authorisation Note (CAN) from ELCAS.
  • Learners failing to allow sufficient time between submitting a claim and starting a course – this takes at least five weeks, so any claim submitted within 25 working days of the start of the course will automatically be rejected.
  • A second or third ELC claim being submitted before the course evaluation form for the previous claim has been completed – such claims are rejected automatically.
  • The course does not meet the necessary minimum criteria (level 3 or above on the RQF* or level 6 on the SCQF) or the learning provider is not on the ELCAS Approved Providers list.
  • Failure to follow the correct procedure for authorising the claim.
  • The course not commencing in the qualifying financial year.
  • Incorrect financial data, such as the learner’s contribution being less than 20% or the MoD’s contribution calculated as exceeding the ELC award.
  • Incomplete details or errors in course title or course level (these account for 25% of all rejected/queried claims).
  • Applicant not registered on the ELCAS system.
  • More than one active claim being processed for an individual in the same financial year.

Avoid rejection

To help avoid rejection on grounds such as those listed above, you should plan ahead, and research and discuss your learning with your line manager and Service education or learning adviser. This also applies if you are a qualifying ex-Service person using your ELC – click here for more info. The margin of 25 working days is in place for good reason. If you don’t plan far enough ahead you could find yourself significantly out of pocket as retrospective claims are not allowed under any circumstances.

Important!

Do not assume that all courses offered by an Approved Provider are automatically admissible under the ELC scheme …

This is a common mistake: one provider may supply many courses, but only those approved courses at NQF/RQF level 3 or above (or equivalent) listed on the ELCAS website may be considered for ELC purposes. 

THE THREE GOLDEN RULES

1. Plan ahead and get it right first time.
2. Don’t buck the system or pay up front.
3. Complete your claim with care!

* As defined by the RQF (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), the SCQF (Scotland) or, if pursued overseas, an approved international equivalent higher-level qualification. Further details of the different qualification frameworks and levels can be found in JSP 822, downloadable from the ELCAS website