Universal Credit - What date is the best to apply?

[UniversalHelp]

I read some advice on here about assessment periods and how it can have consequences if you're paid early for Christmas or bank holidays.

I need to apply for UC but I'm not sure what would be the best date to do so . I need to apply ASAP.

DH is paid his wages on 27th of every month but is paid up to a week early for Christmas .

When should we apply for UC to get the best assessment date ?

I'd apply in the next few days.
For instance, if you apply tomorrow, 15th Feb to March 14th would be your assessment period.

Middle of the month.

Middle of the month! My uc date is the 13th

Strictly speaking employers should report earnings as being paid on the usual pay date, even if they are paying early, which would avoid the problem. But some get it wrong.

As lifeisabeach said, you should claim in the next few days (ASAP really). As long as you claim before the 20th (assuming that's the earliest he'd get paid) it will be fine.

Also bear in the mind that your claim date will be the date that you book your job centre appointment (not the date of the appt) which you do after you complete the online claim form.

Thanks all

DH has been doing some online research this evening and it appears I might also be eligible for new style ESA. (I am disabled and unable to work because of this).

I am due a payment from my previous employer in the next couple of weeks - would it be best to wait until after this is paid before applying ? It will look like I have earnings when I won't from that final pay .

I'm hoping to be placed in the support group ( I have information from my dr saying she believes I am not fit for work at all and also fit notes). But I think I will have a fight on my hands

If it is best to wait until after this final pay date (due on the 29th) should I still wait until mid month before applying (March)?

That would mean 7 weeks without a payment but I don't want our UC payment wrong over Christmas .

DH has savings (less than 6k) but although this is to fund urgent house repairs , I don't think we will be eligible for the advance UC payment ?

DH thinks we should apply on the 5th March.

This means we will have both been paid (my final payment) and we will also have 2x weeks of tax credits to buy our food for the month before they stop .

Applying on the 5th should get around the double payment issue if DH is paid on 27th of the month (around the 22nd in December) - does that sound correct ?

Definitely apply after final pay date and applying on the 5th should be ok.
Will the final pay plus DH pay plus savings push you over the 6,000 mark? Something to consider.
And, definitely, apply for the advance. You'll find out soon enough if you'll get it.

We will still be under the 6k threshold with all income considered .

We will start getting things together to apply on the 5th March .

I'm very nervous at the change as we claim WTC and CTC but with the loss of my wages and with ESA we would be better off moving to UC. (According to the calculators).

New-style ESA is not means-tested (in other words, your earnings or savings are not counted) so you should apply for that now, you can get it backdated for up to 3 months so you should ask for it to start from the day after your last day at work. For example, if your last day was 7th Feb you should ask for ESA from 8th Feb, even if you haven't had your final pay yet.

For the first 13 weeks (off the top of my head) it's the "assessment period" which means you will get the basic rate of ESA, £73.10/week. After that if you're put in the support group the amount will increase.

How much pay are you expecting on 29th March? If it's only a small amount you might still be entitled to some UC, even if you've applied before that.

Another date to consider is when is your next tax credit payment due? As tax credits are paid every 4 weeks it can be helpful to apply for UC just after you've received tax credits.

Whenever you apply, you should be able to request an advance payment, regardless of any savings that you have.

In general I would advise someone who is eligible for UC to apply ASAP (as you can't backdate UC so while you have not yet claimed you're missing out) but in your case it's a bit more complicated with the final wage payment coming in. I would want more info to do a calculation and confirm exactly when to apply (sorry I should have already said I'm a benefits adviser!)

Either way you should apply for new style ESA straight away and that's paid every 2 weeks so that should tide you over while you're waiting to claim UC and/or waiting for the first payment.

If you want more advice and reassurance it might be a good idea to visit citizens advice and take payslips etc so they can do calculations for you.

Do you currently claim housing benefit as well? What a lot of people don't know is that you get a 4 week run on payment of HB when you switch as well. And you'll get the full LHA amount even if you're just entitled to a smaller amount.

I was on legacy benefits and received about 20% of the LHA as HB so ended up with a nice surprise lump sum which helped with the 5 week wait

Thanks again all

We don't claim housing benefit just tax credits .

My last day at work is the same as our pay day (last working day of each month) 29th Feb . (28th for the weekend).

I'm not sure how much the final pay will be but it will include a bonus payment , I'm expecting roughly around £2000.

Can I claim ESA alongside tax credits ? I thought that would end my claim for tax credits and was therefore planning to apply at the same time as UC?

Just remember as soon as you put a claim in for UC your tax credits will stop so probably best to claim after your payment of them if you get it 4 weekly so you don’t miss out.

I just switched to UC from tax credits and I’m nearly 500 a month better off, depending if my wage stays the same just some months I do overtime but that just means I’ll have more on my wage and less on my UC my UC payment will be on the 13th of every month and I get paid off work the 25th so it works out really well for me just I was used to getting my tax credits weekly.
Also about the advance I didn’t even know about that the women at the job centre just asked me if I wanted one so I said yes, also take into account if you get an advance the re payments for it automatically come off your UC the next month

You can actually claim new-style ESA and continue to claim tax credits, without switching to Universal Credit. However, you might be better off on UC - you would need to do a better off calculation which you can do yourself using an online calculator (Entitledto or Turn2Us) or you can ask Citizens Advice.

You mention house repairs so I assume you own (with mortgage) and don't rent? Under UC the work allowance (amount of wages you can keep before deductions) is higher if you don't claim the housing element. So you might be better off on UC.

In any case, given that you're working until the end of Feb and getting a full month's pay, you will need to wait until after that before claiming new-style ESA and UC. If your last day at work is Fri 28 Feb you can claim new-style ESA the next day, Sat 29 Feb. But if your payday is 29 Feb, you'll need to wait until 1 March before claiming UC.

I've just had a thought. Is there any chance you might be eligible for PIP (Personal Independence Payment)? It depends how long you've had your disability - it should be at least 3 months - and extent to which it affects your ability to do "daily living" and "mobility" activities.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/before-claiming/check-you-are-eligible/

www.pip-assessment.support/#main-menu

If you could get PIP this would affect the "better off" calculation and it would probably be better to stay on tax credits as opposed to switching to UC.

I do claim PIP already . Thank you for the mention of the benefit calculator.

DH has been on it and worked out we are probably going to be around £100 per month better off on UC.

However , we think we might just stick to tax credits as I know UC can be a lot of hassle.

We also rely on weekly payments from tax credits .

Other than the extra cash , would there be any other advantages to switching over to UC?

Thank you for all the help provided on this thread , it's been very helpful .

Hmm as you are on PIP I am really not convinced you'd be better off on UC. If you would be happy to PM me with more info I'd be happy to do a calculation for you.

The info I would need is
PIP - whether you get standard or high rate daily living and/or mobility
Husband's earnings
Number of DC and ages

And as I said I'm assuming mortgage not rent (otherwise would need info about rent)

That's very kind thank you .

I'm not sure how to PM on the app

I'll work it out and PM you

I don't use the app but on the mobile site there are 3 dots at the bottom of each post and if you tap them it gives you the option to PM the poster...

Good luck

I’ve PM’d you

You should bear in mind that any New style ESA payment will be deducted from your UC anyway so you need to be sure you will definitely qualify for both after the new style is deducted.