Benefits and back pay

[SecretsOfSunshine]

I claim carers allowance and earn under the earning limit to claim. Quite comfortably.
Next month work has announced they’ve (finally!!) agreed the April pay rise with unions. This means I will earn over the limit.
However I’m not actually earning that much, it’s back pay. If the pay has been awarded in April I’d not have earned over the limit in any month. It’s just because I’m getting the pay has a lump on pay check, 9 months late due to disagreements with unions.
Does anyone know how back pay is treated in regards to earning limits for benefits? Will I lose the benefit? I’d rather lose the back pay as I’ll only be a tiny amount over the earnings limit.

I’ve just had back pay and UC have said (despite the back pay covering 4 months before I was even claiming UC ) that all pay in relation to a claim is taken into account for the period you get it, not the period that was related to the back pay. I’m waiting to see how it affects me.

I am getting my UC docked due to receiving travel expenses (claimed retrospectively) from my employer. UC count it as income despite my household effectively not having access to that money as it's already spoken for. It's a horrible and punitive system that doesn't encourage people to try and improve their situation.

shocked at travel expenses being classed at income. Could you query that? It just doesn't sound right.

UC counts the money on the month you actually receive it.
CA works differently. The money is taken into account for the period it was earned.
I think you should be fine once you have explained what the money relates to.
I received some back pay for a period before I claimed CA and they were fine with it.

You need to contact DWP and explain the situation with the figure of what you actually earn as a result of the pay rise, so they have a clear indication that you are still below the earnings threshold.

Can you arrange for a chunk of the back pay to go straight into a pension? Half of your pension payments are disregarded by Carers.

Thank you, but as such a low earning job I am not currently making contributions

That you, it does say in my letter £110 a week/ £630 per month. I could also argue that over a 4 weeks period either side I haven’t earned the limit. Just that particular 4 weeks if you ran it from the 20th to the 20th. If you for example counted the 4 weeks from the 1st, then the four weeks after that I don’t hit the lint.
It’s so annoying as I’ll get £641. That £11 will lose me £307 potentially if they do say it’s the month

My earnings are really ad hoc. It can be £100, it’s can be £620. It’s not fun dealing with caters allowance, but it makes such a difference to my finance

Speak to your employer. Mine will spread back payments over X amount of months to minimise this type of issue.

I work for the NHS and we had an email about backpay being paid in instalments on request for those on certain benefits. I don’t know how many instalments but the email said to contact payroll.

Mine have just told us after it was processed!

With carers allowance you will have to declare the overpayment. You may then lose some carers allowance.
for instance, I get paid 4 weekly, I worked a bank holiday Monday at double pay and it took me over the limit even when my wage was divided by 4. I lost 4 weeks of carers allowance. If I was still on a 2 weekly pay schedule I would only have lost 2 weeks carers.