UC and temporary contract

[toddybell]

Please can I have some input on this;

I've been off work for the past 5 years as a SAHM. Sadly my marriage broke down during lockdown and I had to go onto UC to support me and my children. Recently, I was asked by a former employer if I'd like to come back on an ad-hoc basis and do some work for them- this would involve them allocating some pieces of work to me but I'd only get paid upon completion of those tasks, not get paid on a contract IYSWIM? They said I could take my time doing the tasks so long as they got done- this was all via telephone.

Anyway, I've been slowly ploughing away at these tasks for the past two months but I've not informed UC since it's not a daily job. Is this okay or am I breaking laws somewhere? My eventual pay for these tasks will be somewhere in the region of £6K once I complete them. I need to inform UC but when do I do that? Will my benefits be taken off me?

Sorry- misleading title- I've not got a contract. I've been asked back to work on an adhoc PAYE basis.

If you're paid £6k within one month then you will definitely not get any UC. They may also rollover the balance to the next few months too.
Can they pay you on a monthly basis- split the cost?
You will need to declare to UC that you are working. HMRC will report how much you have been paid.
Your UC will not get taken away, rather an amount is deducted each month based on how much you have earned.

Thanks @Danikm151- but this is a one-off load of work I have. The company has employed several people like me to get through the backlog of cases. This will have been my only income for the past 5 years and won't be continuing once I'm done. Do you think they'd cut off my UC?

Yes they will cut off your UC they might ask you to pay some back too

Your UC award will be reduced by the full amount especially as £6k is the savings threshold before deductions. If it's £2500 over their threshold they will reduce your award for a certain number of months too.
put a message on your journal to ask how it would work.
If your place are paying through PAYE you will get taxed a chunk on £6k in 1 month and will be able to claim in back if you earn less than £12.5k in a year but not the NI contributions.