To think Universal Credit are a bunch of cunts

[StarbucksStraw]

I work full time but also claim Universal Credit.

They have awarded me £0 this month because two of my wages have fallen within one assessment period therefore to them, it looks like I have earned twice as much.

This happens several times a year because of how my wages are paid, each time I have to raise a dispute, they then "move" one lot of wages to a different assessment period and adjust my statement and pay me the outstanding amount. This is usually sorted within a few days but sometimes takes longer.

This time my payment is nearly three weeks overdue. I have no money left, all of my wages have been spent on rent, direct debits etc. Every time I ask them for an update I get fuck all.

How can they leave someone in this situation? They told me to ask the local authority for help but I've had no luck.

They already have the information from HMRC/ my employer showing when I was paid and how much. What the actual fuck do the expect people to do? I can't run my car to get to work on fresh air and I doubt my son wants to live off whatever stale shite is left in the cupboard for the next fuck knows how long.

I don't know what I'm hoping for from this post... anyone else had success in getting them to hurry up?

'Get a better job'

Yep because we don't need the lower paid roles in society at all do we? We can just do without them, you know shop assistants, care assistants, childcare workers, hospitality workers. They can all go and get a better job and then we'll just do without those services all together.

I've never noticed people having a problem with these services being provided, quite happy to use them, it's only a problem when the wages aren't enough and top ups are needed so that people aren't living under a bridge somewhere and actually available to do these jobs. Then it's all get a better job then.

Oh sorry

my god

No it isn't, it's exactly one calendar month.

If you start a UC claim tomorrow, your assessment period will run from 17th of one month to the 16th of the subsequent month.

Four weeks is not a month (well, except for February, and even then it's only 3 Februaries out of 4). If it was, there would be 13 months in a year, not 12. The average length of a calendar month is 4.33 weeks.

My friend is in this exact situation op

This was decided in a High Court case some years ago

Read

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

My claimn to fame is that I was at school with one of the Judges who gave the DWP a bit of a kicking

When your claim starts there is a 5 week wait for first payment but after that the assessment periods are monthly.

Urgh the comments on this post.

I have a smallish business and we have a
PT employee who also has Uc and has run into this issue - we changed her pay dates. Appreciate this might not be possible if you’re at a larger organisation.

Like others I have a friend in the same situation. They work for the NHS who are constantly messing her wages up with an overpayment they want back. She has no control over this and neither do her bosses. She's constantly trying to have a reserve fund to pay back but has to survive. And yes I mean survive.

@Lovinglife57 Eh? I never said anything about being related to anyone??? I'm speaking for millions of people who have no choice but to rely on UC through no fault of their own. I don't need to know someone personally or be related(?!) to them to know what they're talking about.
I'm sick to death of Tory voters saying nonsense like the rubbish you've said on this thread. People living in poverty, or close to it, cannot just wait for things to right themselves. That was my point!

Feel for you OP, regardless of those complaining about swearing (as if that’s the main issue), you have been left in an awful situation and as someone who’s living on next to nothing, I totally sympathise with you

What's funny about this, is that I actually have a "better" job that I've spent years training for - I'm not in a minimum wage position, yet it's still not enough to get by on.

People make the assumption that those on benefits must all be part time cleaners or shelf - stackers (as if they don't also deserve to be paid enough to live on).

You have ypu opinions and I have mine sweetie

I'm not in the UK and I don't actually understand UC. A person with a full time job here would be unlikely to get any sort of help, unless they had kids - and no, our minimum wage is not high, and things such as groceries etc. cost more, house prices high, rent high etc.

It's even worse if you're paid weekly.

It was designed this way.

UC was designed to punish the poor and appease abhorrent ignoramuses that suffer from ignorant rage.

As I recall, there was a time they'd shut your claim down and you'd have to re apply for it, but I think they changed it.

It sucks OP.

But the wealthier and holier than thou will call you names and show little sympathy, it's them this cruelty was designed to appease.

I’ve said up thread that the UC staff told me it was 5 weeks when I asked them, if I’m wrong I’m wrong, but regardless it’s still a crap system. OP obviously relies on her UC, she hasn’t been paid twice, it just happens that two work payments have fallen into one assessment periods.

@StarbucksStraw I'm severely disabled and claim UC but I also get the LCWRA element instead of working (I do have a degree but I can’t legally work due to my current state of health, even if I felt well enough to but that's a whooole depressing thread in itself!). My advice is to keep posting on your journal. Multiple times per day. Bug them until they sort it to shut you up. It absolutely should not be necessary but if it solves it for this month 🤷🏼‍♀️ I too have experienced them not replying.
Meanwhile, try and see if you can change your pay date with your employer?

@Lovinglife57 Why do you keep calling everyone sweetie? Is that meant to be patronising or something?

Question, if you don't mind.

How would your business be affected if you upped everyone's wages so they didn't need Universal Credit?

Would you have to close? Raise your prices to your clients? (If you have clients)

Because I often see people say 'blame the employer' but I think that's lazy logic and borderline idiotic. The costs to the employer would have to come from somewhere.

@nothingsforgotten But you're not in the UK so that's irrelevant?

So what?

The person on UC works 14hrs per week, and is on a reasonable FTE salary for the role (£32k FTE - second jobber type role). So no, it’s not possible that every employee can be at a point of not needing UC.

But I can also see that there will be lots of smaller businesses who cannot pay higher wages (cafes, small retailers etc) as well.

I work for a large, public organisation so having my paydate changed isn't possible, and in fairness they do report my wage accurately - even at Christmas and on bank holidays when the wage goes in early, it is still reported on the correct date.

I looked in to closing my claim to change the assessment dates which would help - but you can't re-claim again immediately and I wouldn't be able to bridge the gap financially whilst waiting on a new claim. The past 3 weeks has been hard enough!

You’re absolutely right. They are. I genuinely don’t understand how the system can be this bad.

i want to apply for childcare costs as I have a new job. NONE of them know what they’re doing. They once told me I owed them 4K - I appealed it because there was literally no way that could be the case and they decided they owed ME 2.5k which they then paid me… then they started reclaiming the payment as a debt. No one seems to know why any of us would be owing each other money! I’m just paying it… it’s easier than trying to sort it out!!

why is there this ridiculous monthly system anyway?! It should be based on annual income averaged out, it’s shocking. Absolutely shocking.

I'm usually one of the first to shout that it's all the fault of the fucking Tories, but in this case, I have to disagree.

I genuinely don't believe it's possible to design an income-based system that takes account of every possible pay frequency. I've had cases where people are paid fortnightly, so they get 3 paydays in a calendar month a couple of times a year, paid 4-weekly so they get a month with 2 paydays once a year, then cases like the OP where they're paid on the last Friday, or 3rd Thursday and all sorts of weird and wonderful things. Weekly paid people get the occasional month with 5 paydays.

Maybe they should just introduce a law that says every employer should pay calendar monthly and pay on the same day every month. That would stop all this confusion.

At least people with fluctuating income, eg due to shift patterns, don't have to report how much they get every pay day like people still on housing benefit do.

And it's an improvement on tax credits, where every award was provisional and reconciled after the end of the tax year, leading to overpayments and a big drop in income the following year, when the overpayment was clawed back and the amount for the current year was reduced to reflect the increased income, leading to big reductions in the amount paid in the subsequent year.

My job isn't even that badly paid - I work full time and not on minimum wage
So how can you be reduced to living on “stale shite in the cupboard” when you don’t get your benefit top ups for one month?