Is being switched from Tax Credits to UC as bad as they say?? :-/

[Maxine3477]

Ok, so I'm a single mum to 1 child and working part time (18 hours per week). I currently received WTC and CTC, having them paid weekly.
Long story short, I might be losing my job soon (due to funding issues at work). My friend told me that if I lose my job and decide to make an unemployment benefit claim, then I'd have to be switched from Tax Credits to Universal Credit. How does this happen, and is it really as painful a process as people say? I've heard from real horror stories about it, so I'm nervous!. Anyone been through this process? Is my friend right when she says I'd have to go on UC if claiming whilst unemployed?

You wouldn't necessarily need to switch but obviously you would lose your WTC if you lost your job. However you could possibly just claim CTC and New style JSA ( contributions based JSA) if you are eligible. It depends really if you think you could find another job fairly quickly and then WTC could be re-instated. I think WTC run on for eight weeks at the moment anyway( I may be wrong on that ).
If you do need to switch then many people find they are better off on Uc. I personally think some aspects of Uc are a lot better than tax credits but I'm sure loads of people would disagree with me on that ! If you have savings over 16k you can't claim UC. I would speak to CAB and get a detailed benefit check done to explore your options. Do you rent, or do you currently get housing benefit as you cannot make a new claim for Housing benefit now so if you have rent to pay you would most likely need to switch to Uc to get help with the rent.