New Universal credit claim and childcare

[Tired7561]

I'm looking for some advice, I've never claimed universal credit before as I haven't qualified while working part time without childcare costs. With the funded childcare hours increasing in Septemver I'm looking to start a full time job, using nursery and after school clubs. I've used a few universal credit calculators which have said we would be entitled to around £400 UC which would make the difference of me working full time or not being worth it after the cost of childcare.

I don't know much about the system other than the 5 week wait. At what point can I apply for UC, can I do it once I have a signed contract or wait until the start date? I'm a bit worried about covering the cost of the first month or two childcare before getting any UC

I’ve claimed due to rental increase and decrease in salary. They add the cost of your rent to entitlement before deductions made form working. They check your salary and I needed to submit proof of my rent via lease and utility bill. Therefore I couldn’t apply before I had that proof.

Also, when you submit your application, it takes around a month to get a decision on how much you qualify for if anything, then payment is processed soon after.

Is there a chance you might qualify now based on your current circumstances? No harm in applying, the most they can say is you don’t qualify for anything. That way you are in the system already, and once you have a change in circumstances it’s quite easy to update and provide the proof. Actually you should just do it anyway, because even if they say now that you qualify for £0 after deductions, they don’t close your account right away, so you can update when you get the proof you need.

Make your claim now, even if you don't qualify for a payment straight away, you've started the 1 month plus 7 day waiting period.
If you aren't working at the moment, ask about upfront childcare costs. The jobcentre have a discretionary fund that can pay your first months childcare, you can then claim 85% of this cost back ready to pay the following month.

Agreed- apply now. You can request a discretionary childcare payment.