Universal Credit won't be paid in months with 5 weeks. (WTF?) AIBU to think no one realises

[raisinsarenottheonlyfruit]

If you get paid weekly, and there are 5 weeks in a month, in those months your pay will likely go over the Universal Credit limit and your UC will be stopped. You will have to go without that month and apply again.

WTF are they thinking?

Have they never heard of averages FFS? (That's how Tax Credits works). This is going to screw over so many people. It's ludricous.

The people claiming UC aren't any richer that month, they get the same amount of money as if it was paid in 12 monthly chunks.

This will happen to thousands of people every time there's a month with 5 weeks. (I guess they mean 5 Mondays?)

This is farcical.

There's 5 weeks in January, so if you get paid weekly that's you fucked for February.

April, July, October and December also have 5 Mondays.

This is utterly farcical and just plain callous.

SOrry this is off topic but does anyone know if UC will still be counted as income for rental purposes?

Never trust a politician! Full stop. This is utterly appalling and yes agree, heartbreaking too! (Btw ignore daft username, changed for Halloween, but come to think of it right now would quite like to see some metaphoric blood spilt!!!)

Rainbow thank you- that has at least settled one point of panic for me!

I'm not just worried about myself, I'm worried about anyone who has to claim this and what it will do to them.

I've just sent an email to my local MP (labour), I highly doubt she will even read it but its something at least.

I am very worried.
I am so worried I cannot read anything about UC.
We rely on top ups. I cannot change our circumstances. OH has managed to keep working but very limited hours. He won't be able to do this soon.
I cant work substantially more hours because I care for him, he can't do morning school runs and I am also carer for our autistic teenager.

We get by now I can't complain. We are incredibly vulnerable to the whims of the government and I am terrified that after decades of working our late middle age and old age will be in poverty.

I have signed both the petitions and just written to my MP - mine was personalised so can't really post it as a template. For anyone wondering what to write the more general things I said were that I mentioned the 6 week non-payment window and also the fact that being paid weekly/4 weekly as opposed to monthly could trigger having to reapply. I also said I was appalled May had ordered the Conservative party to withdraw from voting in the recent debate, said I'd signed the petitions but wanted advice on what else I could personally do.

Never trust a politician! Full stop.

I'm sorry but I totally disagree with this. It's this kind of thinking that lets the Tories get away with stuff. People just go, oh well you can't trust any of them, they're all the same and don't do anything about it.

It's not true. They're not all the same. This lot are MUCH worse than the alternatives. We need to get them out of power.

Labour Party petition here. You can donate as well but you don't have to.

donation.labour.org.uk/page/s/universal-credit

Horrible system devised by an 'IDIOT' IDS. However, what i really don't understand is how people believe Corbyn, Abbot, Mcdonell et al are going to make the poor better off and create a utopia.

Within 6-12 months of a Corbyn led administration the UK will be in an a appalling state and poor people will be worse off !

1. Collapse of tax revenue as anybody who can, will look to leave the country. The result being the Labour party will seek to hit people in the £40k pa bracket to try to plug the spill.

1. 30-40% fall in the value of house prices across the country as nobody wants to be seem to have 'capital' in an political environment , where 'rich' or wealthy is open to interpertation.

1. Inflation as everybody gets paid £10 a hour a supervisor than requires £15 a hour pushing inflation through the roof.

1. The raft of social changes and extra taxes that will be imposed on 'small' business. These being such as regarding working time restrictions on staff increased NI contributions to cover black hole caused by the black hole of Capital flight and talented people leaving. A major damage being 'cottage' business will no longer be able to exist, the sole trader or two three people employer will be unable to exist !

1. The net result will be yes a reduction in the gap between the wealthy and the 'poor' but that is because we will have just reinvented the system that caused the brain drain in the 1970s.

2. 30-40% fall in the value of house prices across the country as nobody wants to be seem to have 'capital' in an political environment , where 'rich' or wealthy is open to interpertation.

There might be a fall in house prices but I doubt this will be the reason - more likely it will be the rise in interest rates which is inevitable regardless of who is in power.

Why should small businesses exist if they can't afford to pay people fair wages?

Personally I have faith in the British public and I bet this doesn't go through or it fails very soon.

What is it you believe the British public will do? Is there some mechanism I'm unaware of whereby members of the public can veto policy? Is there a link I need to click to force a general election? Or is it the case that until they call an election the Conservatives can (and have proven they will) do as they please? They've already ignored a landslide vote against them. What on earth do you honestly think will be done by the ordinary public to stop them???

Slarti I think some people are hoping there will be similar revolts to the whole poll tax situation in Thatcher time- I'm not old enough to remember but I vaguely remember my dad being involved in a protest against it.

Maybe that's what we need- mass protests.

@mountford100
There is literally not a fact in your post! It's amazing
I don't think I've ever heard something so iditiotic in years!

raisins right now that is how I feel though. It won't stop me voting or doing what I can to evoke change. I will continue to engage with politics but I am feeling just incredibly disillusioned right now.

Cherries I don't disagree with you there but top up benefits are not only used by people on NMW. Me and OH are unable to work full time and they have enabled us to keep working.

Unfortunately the propaganda put about by successive governments has worked and the myth that part timers don't work full time through choice is a common one.

How many people in the UK are employed by business with less than 15 employees! No doubt many of these companies make small profits every year Therefore after liabilities loans they paying the owner a salary that is probably average or just above the national average.

However, small business perform a role in the UK not just by employing people that are unable/ unsuited to be employed by the state or 'industrial' behemoth . They are also are a crucial component to British identity.

Absolutely agree MrsDV, that was directed at mountford's post :) we are in the same position, I earn above NWM but don't work FT due to having small children.

I'm very worried about the very dystopian sounding need to "prove" that you are looking for full time work if you work less than 35 hours a week, I hope that has been misinterpreted and I'm wrong :(

You don't think they will be Capital Flight if Corbyn become Prime Minister !

Perhaps you are one of those left wingers who believe 'good' riddance to high earners ! We don't need high earners in the Uk

There will be Capital Flight.

TheSassyVampireAIBUToLoveBlood I'm terrified

We have:

• Kafkaesque benefits system
• the total removal of the safety net for some, both through inefficiency / incompetence by the government but also by design including on a punative basis
• the government want to reduce our human rights
• the government plan to introduce significant censorship of the internet and to cut our internet off from the rest fo the world. efffectively
• a huge handover of power happening after we leave the EU and the Tories getting to rewrite our laws behind closed doors
• TM cosying up to America who will insist on us relaxing pesky laws on things like food standards

It is important to mention the bigger picture as this 5 week thing isn't a simple fuck up. It's indicitave of a mentality in this Government that threatens our way of life in this country, for all of us.

I'm terrified about the prospects for our DC.

Perhaps you also would like the Government to introduce credit controls to stop Capital Flight !

Cherries I believe it differs depending on your specific circumstances but yes, if you're not working/not deemed to be working enough hours you will have to job search for however many hours you are short if that makes sense.

British Identity? I'll take a large stable employer who can afford to offer liveable wages and ethical employee rights over someone deciding it is their right to succeed in business at the expense of their employees.

And I agree there is a huge stigma around part time work, especially if being part time means you are entitled to tax credits/benefits. It sounds like a choice for us to work less, but the reality is the cost of childcare for 2 babies would be financially crippling.

Goodness Ladycsparkles that sounds incredibly intrusive monitoring of peoples' circumstances they really are out to punish with this one aren't they :(

I'm very worried about the very dystopian sounding need to "prove" that you are looking for full time work if you work less than 35 hours a week, I hope that has been misinterpreted and I'm wrong

That's correct and has been reported for years now. Just not in mainstream press, enough.

You need to earn more than 35 hours a week NMW. If not then you need to prove you're looking for work in the same way unemployed peopel do now.

BOTH people in a couple will be expected to do this.

The job centre will be able to enforce conditionality on you.

You will be expected to look for any work within a 90 minute drive (even if you rely on public transport and it takes longer).