We have provided a list of frequently asked questions, which we hope will provide more re-assurance to our customers during a very difficult period regarding work, income and the need to apply for benefits.
The following list will detail different situations, probably the most common so far, from customers not currently claiming benefits, to customers who are receiving some benefits already, and to those customers who are already in receipt of Universal Credit.
If you’re not able to find a solution to your current situation from the list of questions below, please do not hesitate in contacting us for some further guidance. You can speak to our rents team on 0333 3212 200. Should a benefit check be required, you can ask our rent teams to refer you to our Financial Inclusion Team.
As long as you satisfy the basic claiming criteria for Universal Credit you will be able to make a claim. Whether you will have an award paid/how much will depend on your individual circumstances.
The timing of your UC claim can be important, especially if you are paid monthly (see below) or if you are due a payment of wages in the next few days. If you are not already receiving any help with your Council Tax Bill, you should also make a new claim for Council Tax Support.
Universal Credit is a monthly benefit. It is assessed and paid in chunks of a month called Assessment Periods. Your date of claim determines when your Assessment Periods start and end. So, for instance, if you claim UC on 25th March, your first Assessment Period would be 25th March to 24th April, and all following Assessment Periods would run from 25th of one month to 24th of the next.
When the DWP work out how much UC you are entitled to, they take into account the wages you’ve received during that Assessment Period.
If you are paid monthly, then depending on your pay date and Assessment Periods you can sometimes find that two wages are paid within one Assessment Period.
You should ring the UC Helpline 0800 328 5644 and explain your situation. They will be able to take your claim over the phone and explain what happens next.
That depends on whether or not you are currently getting any of the benefits Universal Credit replaces in particular Tax Credits and/or Housing Benefit.
If you are, then:
That depends on whether or not you are currently getting any of the benefits Universal Credit replaces in particular Tax Credits and/or Housing Benefit.
If you are not currently getting any of the means-tested benefits, then you may have nothing to lose by making a claim for Universal Credit. Whether you are entitled and how much you will receive if you are will depend on your income, savings and personal circumstances.
If you are currently getting Tax Credits and /or Housing Benefit, then you may be better off staying on these in the long run. If you do decide to claim Universal Credit, then it could be that delaying your date of claim could be beneficial to you. So please seek advice from a Benefits Adviser.
And contact your landlord to let them know your current situation.
You can claim immediately, but depending how much holiday pay you are due, and when, you may be better off delaying your claim until you receive it. If you are due a significant amount of holiday pay in the next few days / couple of weeks, then it is more likely that it would be better to delay the claim until after you receive this payment. This is because this payment from your employer will reduce your UC award.
If you are entitled to a work allowance and the amount of holiday pay (and any wages you are still due) is less than this allowance, then you should claim immediately. This is because the payment from your employer will be totally disregarded and so not affect your UC award.
If you are not sure what you are best doing, contact a Benefits Adviser.
As long as you satisfy the basic claiming criteria for Universal Credit you will be able to make a claim. You have to: be working age, have savings/capital under £16,000, be in GB, not be excluded from UC (some students are excluded depending on age, level of course etc.), not be claiming Tax Free Childcare, and agree to a claimant commitment. Whether you will have an award paid/how much will depend on your individual circumstances. You could use an online calculator to give an estimate of how much you may be entitled to.
Hopefully, due to the recent government announcements regarding the Job Retention Scheme your employer will be able to keep you on.
If you are laid off, then the timing of your UC claim may be important (see below) and you should also make a new claim for Council Tax Support.
Contact your Work Coach – let them know that you are self-isolating and that you should be treated as having a ‘Limited Capability for Work’, and, if your award does not already include a work allowance, you may now be entitled so request that this is included. Keep looking at your UC account / texts and watch out for any ‘to-do’s’ – make sure you do complete any given to you. Keep your Work Coach informed of your situation. If you are likely to be off work for more than 7 days, get an ‘isolation note’ from NHS111 online and for your employer – the DWP should not ask you for this.
You should contact your Work Coach by sending them a message via your UC journal and ring the UC Helpline 0800 328 5644 and explain your situation. You should have your claimant commitment altered to reflect the fact that you do not have to be available for work nor do any work search. Make sure you accept this online within 7 days, otherwise your claim could be closed.
Keep in contact with your Work Coach and watch out for any texts and ‘to-do’s’. As soon as you stop self-isolating your claimant commitment will be altered again to reflect your new situation – and again you will need to agree to it within 7 days.
The government has said that families who get free school meals due to being on a low income will be offered vouchers for supermarkets or local shops, or food or meals by their schools. So if you have not already been contacted by the children’s school, you could ring the school to find out what the local arrangements are.
If your wages have dropped due to being designated a ‘furloughed worker’ then we are hoping that the rules will work in a way that treats you as working your normal hours – so you can continue to receive Working Tax Credit.
If however, your wages have dropped because your hours at work have dropped then you need to check whether your hours drop below the minimum required to qualify for Working Tax Credit (WTC).
If your wages are only dropping for a couple of weeks, your Tax Credits are unlikely to be affected and you can continue to receive your Tax Credits as normal.
This is because HMRC will only reassess your entitlement to Tax Credits if your annual income reduces by £2,500 or more. So you need to work out how much your wages are reducing by, and for how long, to work out whether your annual income will reduce enough for your Tax Credits to be reassessed.
If your wages are going to be affected by the Coronavirus outbreak for a long time then your earnings are more likely to drop by more than £2,500 in total and so your Tax Credit award could be reassessed.
Tax Credits are assessed for each tax year. As we are now in March, you might not see a drop of more than £2500 in the tax year 6th April 2019 – 5th April 2020, but you might do in the next tax year. Let HMRC know about your situation.
You should also check to see whether claiming Universal Credit would be a better option for you – especially if you pay rent. Contact a Benefits Adviser.
If your hours are reducing for 4 weeks or less, then you can stay on your Tax Credits. However, if you know that the reduction in your hours is going to last longer than this, then, if your hours have dropped below those required for you to remain entitled to Working Tax Credit, you must notify HMRC and your Working Tax Credit award will stop – although you will be entitled to a 4 week run-on.
If you are also getting some Child Tax Credit this can continue (although if the drop in your hours is going to be long term it is worth checking whether or not you’d be better off on Universal Credit).
If you are not getting any Child Tax Credit you may need to claim Universal Credit instead.
The employer will be reporting the wages to HMRC directly, who will then pass this information to UC. This should take effect in the assessment period in which the DWP receives the information from HMRC. If the client believes the information reported by the employer or by HMRC is incorrect, they should notify UC of this and provide any information in support of that e.g. a bank statement or payslip.
This will also be reflected within a customer’s entitlement who already claims UC, where their UC should automatically increase once the reduced wages are reported.
Additional Information
Statutory Sick Pay
Statutory Sick Pay is paid to an employee by their employer for up to 28 weeks, if they earn at least £118.00 per week (£120.00 per week from 6 April 2020). It’s paid at a flat rate of £94.25 per week (£95.85 from 6 April 2020). However, they may also be entitled to additional sick pay from their employer depending on the terms of their employment contract.
Universal Credit
Universal Credit is a means-tested benefit paid to working age claimants who require financial help. It is for those in work, as well as those out of work. It can include help with rent and childcare.
Tax Credits
Working Tax Credit is for working claimants, it is provided to boost the income of working people who are on a low income. Entitlement is, amongst other things, dependent upon hours worked.
Child Tax Credit is money paid to people responsible for children.
You cannot make a new claim for Tax Credits and would need to claim Universal Credit instead unless protected by the SDP Gateway Condition.
Housing Benefit
Housing Benefit is a means-tested benefit to help people pay their rent. You cannot make a new claim for Housing Benefit and would need to claim Universal Credit instead unless you live in ‘specified accommodation’ or in ‘temporary accommodation’ or are Pension Credit age and single or Pension Credit age and your partner is also Pension Credit age.
Working Tax Credit – Required Hours (Lone Parents)
Lone parents aged 16 or over with at least one dependent child, working 16 hours or more a week.
Couples with children:
