Universal credit help please

[HappiestHippo123]

My friend is due to claim universal credit. She is paid monthly and needs nursery fee help. She is paid monthly and works full time. Earning approx 24/26k per annum. Nursery is £1000.

I understand some people end up not receiving money from UC due to two pay days in one month.
If she claims this week, will this cause issues? Also she is going to ask payroll if they do the run on the same date each month th, is there anything else she needs to ask?

If she's paid monthly it shouldn't be that much of an issue. I'd choose a date to claim that was mid way between my pay dates. Don't claim on a date just next to the day you get paid because then if work pay early for Xmas (for example) it messes everything up.

And you get childcare money from UC in arrears so in effect she won't get anything for the first month of her claim.

Do you think it’s worth waiting until the 1st to claim? I am happy to help with her childcare in feb.
When you say arrears does that mean when she stops claiming (when child starts school) she will get a final payment (a bit like when you leave work) or is the 5 week a deferred period with no money due?

Get your friend to call or web chat with the Citizens Advice Help to Claim team. They can do a benefits check and advise her on when to start the claim and other benefits she may be entitled to. Some people can get their initial childcare costs covered by a flexible support fund payment as well through their UC work coach. Good advice already to avoid the days around your friends pay day if possible to avoid issues with slightly early/ late wages causing 2 wages in 1 assessment period

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/help-to-claim/

What is her usual paydate, is it a fixed date every month (eg 25th) or variable (eg last Friday or last working days of every month)? She doesn't need to ask HR, she can just look at her bank statements and see when she's been paid over the last year.

UC can't usually be backdated so it's generally best to just claim ASAP, unless pay dates are variable in which case it's worth timing it carefully.

For one-offs like paying people early at Christmas, the HMRC guidance for employers said they should report the usual paydate even if actually paying early, which means UC shouldn't be affected, although in practice employers get it wrong and it can cause issues.

There is a 5 week wait for the first payment but your friend can request an advance payment if she wants - this would be a loan and would be repaid via deductions from her monthly payments.

Childcare being paid in arrears means that she has to pay her childcare bill, add the costs to her UC account, then she will get the payment via UC at the end of the month.

Thanks.
She needs to pay nursery ASAP. But the first day the child is at the nursery is 8th feb. She then will have to pay again at end of feb for a full month.

She is paid last working day of each month. So I guess technically variable.

I've just read on a UC group on Facebook that it's best to put a claim in between 2nd and 18th to avoid 2 wages in a UC payment period

Claim ASAP, it can take weeks for a payment, it's not quick.

Best just to claim. Some people get paid every 4 weeks which is tricky. If she's paid monthly she can contact them to adjust if it's the last Friday of the month and she gets two pays in one period etc.

@Wishineverchangedmyname

I've just read on a UC group on Facebook that it's best to put a claim in between 2nd and 18th to avoid 2 wages in a UC payment period

Not if it's the 19th and you're going to miss out on 2 weeks worth of UC if you wait until the 2nd.

It all depends on each person's circumstances and pay dates.

As PP said, Citizens Advice Help to Claim service is the best source of reliable advice on this.

OP, if your friend is paid on the last day of each month, that could be anything from 28th to 31st, which means if she claims now she'll be fine. Today is the 26th so her assessment period will be 26th January to 25th February, then 26 Feb to 25 March, etc.

Hi she has spoken to payroll. She is paid last Friday of every month. Hmrc advised on the day before (the Thursday).

@womaninatightspot
Do they adjust it?
She can wait a week if I help her out. She can’t risk missing a full £800/1000 later this year. Luckily I can help her this month but I can’t guarantee I can do that in the future.

Does she realise that she has to pay the childcare fees up front and then claim them back? Sorry if she does but I know a lot of people do not realise this!

[quote HappiestHippo123]@womaninatightspot
Do they adjust it?
She can wait a week if I help her out. She can’t risk missing a full £800/1000 later this year. Luckily I can help her this month but I can’t guarantee I can do that in the future.[/quote]
I had this as I used to get paid on the last Friday of the month. They moved a payments across into the next assessment period without any problems. You do need to tell them about it though in advance.

askcpag.org.uk/content/205719/uc-and-double-payment-of-wages-new-rules

From the government website

If your monthly payment date changes
You’ll need to sign into your online account to check how much your next monthly payment will be. If it looks like you’ll get paid too much or too little Universal Credit, ask your work coach to move your wages into another assessment period.

www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-youre-paid

You can ask for a budgeting loan to pay the first month childcare up front then pay it back over 6 months/ a year. People moan a lot about UC but I've always found it really straitforward.

My friend has gone from part time to full time hours as of early Jan. Family assisted for a few weeks whilst nursery places sought. As of feb it’s full time hours and several days in the nursery.

She could have stayed part time as she wouldn’t have been much worse off but thinks it’s better for the future ie promotion, pension etc to be full time.

Ex won’t assist but as I say I can help out this month.

The flexi support would be amazing I have just told her about this, but she is going to assume she won’t get it.

I asked advice o this recently and was told to claim between the 2nd and 17th to avoid problems. I didn't claim in the end though but was advised by someone very knowledgeable

Not if it's the 19th and you're going to miss out on 2 weeks worth of UC if you wait until the 2nd.

But it's not the 19th. And it can save potential problems in future

"was advised by someone very knowledgeable"

If someone could claim UC on the 19th but doesn't claim until the 2nd of the following month, that 2 week delay could mean losing a considerable amount of money - some people are entitled to UC of £1k+ a month, so you're potentially writing off £500+ because a "knowledgable" person on Facebook told you to?!

@AnotherEmma

"was advised by someone very knowledgeable"

Ok so the experts at the universal credit essentials forum if you want specifics

We claimed on 3rd of the month. Dh gets paid the last Thursday of each month.
There's never a double pay in an assessment period.

Childcare is paid in arrears though