To worry about this UC error

[Floflo2]

Hello everyone. I'm a single mum. I work 30 hours a week around the children. I do get a UC top up and I'm greatful for it. I don't know why or how it's happened. But my work has told them I've earned double what I have this month. Which is impossible even if i worked full time to make the figure they have said I've taken home.

So I've just had my statement and I won't be able to pay rent and survive this month without that money. I've messaged my journal and offered to send over pay slips. But I'm worried about this not being resolved.

Has anyone ever experienced this and what was the outcome.

Posted here as I know the traffic is good.

Do you get paid monthly or four-weekly?

If four-weekly, then there is a month every year that you'll get paid twice. I don't think you can do anything about that.

It could also be, if you get paid close to your assessment date, and your wages have been paid slightly early eg because of a weekend, that your work have used the wrong rti date. If that's the case, you should be and to send a message to your case manager, and they should be able to ask someone to move one set of wages to the following assessment period.

If it's neither of year things, hopefully someone else can shed some light.

Hello I get paid my own wages every 4th Friday and uc is the 30th. They base it on the 23rd to the 22nd of the following month. I haven't had two payments in November. I have heard there's a month like that. But I don't feel it would be this one..unless I'm being dumb?

Where you paid twice between the 23rd and 22nd? If you have been that will be why. If your going to struggle you could ask universal for an advance or speak to your local council.

Just message them on the journal and they will ask you to send the amount you got paid on your payslip, they tend to resolve it quite quickly.

UC has messed my payments up quite a few times recently, last month they said my pay was 0 so paid me loads (which I quickly sent back) and this month they've said I've been paid double!

They always work it out for you in my experience 😊

Tell UC it's wrong, it can take a month or so sometimes to correct it though. Could you take a budgeting advance out?

So what were your last two pay days?

If your paydays were 25th October and 22nd November then unfortunately it is correct, on UC that those who are paid every 4 weeks will be awarded a £0 payment once a year because 2 paydays will fall in one assessment period.

Are loans/advances still a thing with UC? You could try asking on your journal if that is possible?

Mark out all your payments on a calendar then you will clearly see which UC period contains the 2 wage payments. This will help you budget for it in the future.

It's the month from 23rd to 22nd in your case & not the calendar months.

I'm guessing the 2 payments were from 23rd October to 22nd November?

Yes OP definitely mark out all your pay days, this issue may hit again so better to be prepared and budget for it

I was paid the 24th and the 22nd yes. So will I get more next month because I look like I have alot less?

Sorry if I'm being thick. This has thrown me. Especially the month before Christmas.

No, you'll get the same as usual next month, assuming your pay is the same as usual. You haven't lost out - you got paid twice in one (not calendar) month, so your 'extra' pay should more than balance out the loss of UC.

@Floflo2 no it will be your usual amount next month, because you will have had one payment during your assessment period. It is worth asking about an advance or similar kind of loan, that you will pay back monthly.

I don't see when I would have got paid twice though. I have been on it since December last year. Always put through my wages and got exactly the same from them each month.

I know I'm being dumb somewhere. Thank you anyway.

You've had two paydays in the assessment period. Because you are paid four-weekly, you get thirteen paydays per year, not twelve, but you get twelve UC payments. That means for one UC payment they have to include two paydays worth of wages.

Your month for assessment is 23rd - 22nd, you were paid twice during this period, so once on 25th October and once on 22nd November, because UC runs monthly this happens once a year to all workers who are paid 13 weekly.

I hope this helps, it's tricky when wages, bills and benefits all run slightly differently.

Ahh OK thank you. Sorry for being slow. I dont want to do an advance payment because I feel that will set me up to fail if I start owing money at random.

It's not you, it's that the system isn't geared up to provide for everyone in the most optimum way. It would be better if they could tailor UC so that this wasn't an issue, because it's not straightforward.

I also get paid four weekly, but I am not on UC, so it's really a bonus for me. But as someone else said, when your wages, your benefits and your expenses don't work to the same timetable, it's tricky to manage.

It seems you actually get paid 13 times a year, once every 4 weeks; not 12 times a year, once every month.

Not slow at all, if you don't know you don't know, now you do.

I understand about advanced payments but please do reach out to UC or other organisations in your area if you need help this month.

That's a tough system to deal with, as you are working on a 4week schedule not a calendar month one.

Now you know this it's probably worth working out the total you get per year, take out your major costs (rent and bills) so you can see how much you have left weekly. Then you'll know what you can afford weekly regardless of when the money comes in.

Not very easy to do.

Who came up with this utterly shit system? Someone who doesn't actually get paid 4 weekly I guess. What a backwards system

You're not slow. This system is shit.

You're not being dumb it's just confusing when payments are both every 4 weeks not every calendar month whereas bills are by calendar month.

The UC averages out across the payments to take this into account. You get the same amount across the year it's just the payment amounts that vary. There will be a calendar month where you get 2 UC payments as well as 1 wage payments.

Like suggested previously in a PP I would get a calendar & mark out your payment dates & amounts so you know what to expect.

UC doesn't cope with the 13 pay days every year. It looks as if you e earned double one month. You need to talk to them. I'm sure they have a system in place now to resolve it.