Universal credits assessment period

[NothingLess20]

I’m losing the will to live with this and I am under so much stress.
If your not aware of how universal credits works each month you get an assessment period, mine is from the 21st of the current month to the 20th of the next month. Within that period universal credits will have your earnings reported to them and will calculate how much your entitled to that month.
They take off 0.63p for every £1 you earn.
Unfortunately my payday at work falls on the 21st of the month so each time I get paid on a weekend I get paid early which means to universal credits it looks like I’ve had two wages paid to me within the same assessment period therefore they take a massive chunk of the universal credits off me, so this month I’ve worked out I’ll be getting £43 off them. After I’ve paid my rent and my £720 childcare bill. I’ll be left with £117 to pay the rest of my bills, travel to work, pay the kids bus and dinner money. I’m so depressed with it.
My ex pays me maintenance for the kids so that will cover food each week thankfully. I’m still left with most of my bills that I’m unable to pay this month.
How is this right? I get paid once a month why should it matter if I’m paid early due to the bank putting it in my bank early? Surely they have enough brains to realise this!
Is anyone else experiencing this?
I didn’t plan being a single parent but I feel like I’m almost being punished for it. My youngest is almost 2 and unfortunately I earn too much to qualify for the 20 free hours of childcare, I just can’t catch a break.

Firstly if you have kids , they don't just start taking 63p off for every pound - you get a work allowance which means that the first £287 of what you earn is completely disregarded before your Uc is reduced.
If two wages fall in one assessment period then yes you will get less Uc that month, however surely no payday will fall in the next assessment period so there would be no deductions for wages ? You do miss out on the work allowance though.
You could ask your employers just to report your wages to HMRC on the day they are meant to be paid perhaps? The only other option would be to change assessment period dates. People need to bear in mind assessment period dates and pay days when they make a claim, best to try to keep them away from each other, sorry I know this doesn't help you but just for anyone else about to make a claim. The assessment period will always run from when you first make the claim. I think actually it's your employers at fault here rather than the DWP for the date they are reporting things on.

Who sets your assessment period? Can you change it?

Sorry also meant to say Uc wont change the assessment period dates unless you end the claim , then claim again which obviously isn't really an option.

That is annoying. It doesn't seem like it should be that complicated to shift it.

The assessment period date is from the day you make the claim until one month later. So if you made the claim today it would stay as 14th-13th of each month. No I don't think you can change it easily. Its best just to try to keep assessment dates well away from pay days.

It would mess up the whole claim if people wanted to change the dates. people should be warned about the importance of when they make the claim because it causes untold misery like this !

Sorry yes forgot to mention about the first £287 of earnings.
Yes the next month I will get a larger amount but that really doesn’t help me budget, I live month to month, don’t have savings, my disposable income is minimal and as you will know when you have kids there’s always something to pay for weather it’s school uniform or new clothes.

I’ve spoken to them and they’ve said changing assessment period dates isn’t an option. The only other thing I can think of is asking them to change the payments to two weekly, then maybe I could avoid this happening every time I get paid early.

Anyone else struggling with this with some advice?

Changing payments to two weekly just means the monthly Uc payment is split in two so I don't think that will help unfortunately.
You need to speak to your employer about reporting your earnings on the actual day they are meant to be paid.

Or if you get paid more Uc on the months when no pay is reported, perhaps put a little aside for the months when you get less .

Oh I see I thought it might mean your assessment period is split in two as well, there goes that idea.

I think speaking to my employer is my best bet at the moment. Hopefully they can help.

I can’t put money aside when I get paid more as unfortunately I play catch-up with the bills I’ve been unable to pay the previous month. It’s just an unrealistic system.

Yes it is a pain. It can work well for people who get paid monthly on the same day but for anyone paid four weekly or weekly or whose pay day date coincides with assessment dates like you, it can cause big problems. hope you manage to get something sorted.