Universal credit - unknown income (childminder!)

[mymadworld]

I'm a childminder and it looks like most of my families will be off for the foreseeable future which leaves me without any income . It sounds like I might be able to qualify for some sort of help so just trying to fill in the UC application but a couple of things aren't clear:

1. It asked for my salary but what I've earned this month bears no relation to what I will going forward so not sure what to put.

1. If one of my key worker families suddenly needs help in a few weeks/months, what happens then if I'm receiving benefits?

Hi, you need to put what you normally earn. As you’re self employed you’d normally be required to report your actual earnings each month on the last day of your assessment period so what you put in the box to claim isn’t what’s taken into account is that makes sense. Citizens Advice have a dedicated service to help with Universal Credit claims. www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/help-to-claim/

If you do some work again in the future for a key worker family you need to report that income at the end of the assessment period you do the work and it’s likely to reduce the amount of Universal Credit you receive.

Hi OP I applied on Wednesday (I’m a self employed cleaner) and they accepted that I will have no income for the next month at least.

You have to fill in what you’ve earned in previous months but UC is paid in arrears based on what you earned in the assessment period. So let’s say you earn nothing for the next two weeks and then a key worker needs you for the last two weeks and you earn £80 a week, you just update your journal and your payment will be made based on that. They will take £0.63 of every £1.00 you earn.

More info on Universal Credit

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/

Benefit calculator

www.entitledto.co.uk/

Thanks all makes sense . If the site would stop crashing I should be able to submit my claim later today.

Yes the site will be getting loads of applications. Hope you can get through

Just to warn you- they aren’t doing face to face appointments, they will book you an appointment but it will be a telephone appointment. Someone will ring you. They told me the earliest available for me was the 1st of June (which would mean no money until July!) but the guy then contacted my local office to try and get it made ASAP and the woman from my local office phoned me that afternoon and did my appointment so claim started immediately. Hopefully they will be as quick for you. If they give you a date weeks away ask if they can do anything to make it sooner and if not ask for details for who to contact yourself to see what can be done. As you need income ASAP. Not in 4 months!