Does working 30 hours make a difference on universal credit?

[AmIAWeed]

I am struggling to find answers online and I am in a bit of an odd position.
We have a staff member who I know is keen to increase their hours, right now we really can't afford it as they were only ever supposed to be part time.
I have it in my head that working 30 hours would allow them to claim under the old system working tax credits - does working a minimum of 30 hours make a big difference in terms of universal credit?
It would be good to know if 30 is still seen as a magic number, as I will happily look at lots of different ways to get their hours up to this if it will help ease their financial issues in other ways.

If however it really makes no difference then I may be better off keeping the hours at an affordable rate for us as a business and know I risk losing them.

I think it's only 16 hours for WTC? Zero idea if that rule still applies to UC. Sorry

Thanks Storm it's all a bit of a minefield.
If it is 16 then frankly there's no point trying to push their hours to 30 - it would affect the pay of me and one other. If we could push them to 30 hours AND they'd get additional help it may be enough for them, it's a shame they said a part time job didn't pay enough until after they took the job!
We'll wait until they find a full time job or our business grows enough to employ them full time

No its not a magic number on UC like it was on tax credits. On UC there are guidelines for the number of hours people need to work for their situation. For lone parents it depends on the age of their youngest child, they would be expected to earn this number of hours x minimum wage.

On UC it is the amount you earn not the hours you work that is important. You have a Work Allowance which depends on your circumstances then earnings over that incur a taper .

The thing is, on UC if you work less than full time, you will be made to look for more work to up your hours- including attending the job centre for catch up appointments etc. You will be sanctioned if you do not do this- and that includes if you are claiming what used to be tax credits.

So your staff member may then have to juggle two jobs - and be less efficient for you. Or they may have to attend job centre appointments during the hours they would work for you.

It’s shit and unfair- but worth bearing in mind this may be why they want to up their hours.

IIRC the amount you need to earn would be the equivalent of NMW for a 30hr week. If her hourly rate is more than minimum wage then you might be able to get away with her working fewer hours.

We pay a living wage as opposed to minimum wage as this is a trainee role increasing the hourly rate isn't possible until they can work without the support and training they are getting now. Additionally making them full time is tricky due to the support they need, it isn't just pay but the investment of our time. The more I think about it the more I realise why this is a part time job. It sounds horrible because on a personal level I'd like them to have a perfect balance, but this is a business not a friendship sadly

If you are paying more than minimum wage then I think she can work fewer hours.

I do 26, and as I understand it, I’ll hit the threshold for earning enough to be equivalent to 30hrs minimum wage.

I suppose you have to weigh up if your employee leaves for more hours elsewhere as UC enforce more pay on her - will this mean you have to spend time and money training someone else?

It's Nothing to do with hours on UC.
Are you in a UC rolled out area but she's currently on WTC?
Tell her to do a calculation on EntitledTo.
If she's a lone parent, she get quite a generous work allowance on UC so financially she'll be better off.
Whether she still needs to look at increasing her hours (for UC purposes) will depend on the age of any dependents. But she won't be asked to attend regularly if she's working anyway.

The work allowance is no different for lone parent to couples.

There isn't a work allowance at all for couples @Babyroobs but there is for lone parents.

There is absolutely a work allowance for couples !!

Thanks all

I do know they have universal credit in their area - but I don't know if this is their motivation for pushing for more hours. I've booked a meeting to have a frank conversation about their expectations, what they want to achieve and I can see if we can make that work for us.
At this point they haven't confirmed how many more hours they want to work, as they aren't far off 30 hours I thought it may be what they were aiming for from my own experience a few years back with working tax credits.