The DWP has amended Universal Credit for those who are paid monthly by their employer, and occasionally receive two payments from their employer in one month. DWP staff now have the ability to reallocate a second monthly payment from a customer’s employer into a different assessment period. This means that if, for example, you are paid early by your employer due to their regular monthly pay date falling on a weekend or bank holiday then you won’t have two wages allocated to one assessment period. This change will come into effect on 16 November.
Example: Catrina works as a carer and gets paid every 26th of the month. Her Universal Credit assessment period (AP) is 24th-23rd, with payment each month on 30th of the month. This Christmas, she will receive her wages earlier, on 22nd of December. She will have had two wages taken into account in her monthly assessment period, one on 26 November and one on 22 December, resulting in her not receiving any Universal Credit payment on 30th December. Thanks to the regulations change, she will now be able to contact Universal Credit and request that her second wage be put back into her next assessment period starting 24th December to 23rd January and still get a payment on 30th December.
If you have any questions about this change in regulations, please contact our Tenancy Sustainment Team.
