Thousands of UK recipients of Universal Credit are being urged to check their Christmas pay packet, to avoid seeing cuts to their benefits.
While employers can pay wages early in December - in a bid to ensure that staff receive their pay ahead of bank holiday delays - the move can trick Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) systems into believing that people have received temporary salary increases.
This is because it may appear as if you have been paid twice during one assessment period - which has a knock on effect of potentially reducing your benefit entitlement for January 2023.
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The Mirror reports that while the DWP has admitted that benefit computer systems will now flag this automatically, claimants may be still left without a penny should employers fail to report correct pay dates. HMRC executives say that all bosses paying staff early should report the normal pay date on a Full Payment Submission (FPS).
It is also worthwhile flagging it to your boss or payroll department directly should you claim UC, so they can make sure that your pay is marked in the correct manner. The new system update has assisted the DWP in identifying those who are paid multiple times in one month as a one-off - for example, if their pay is moved through a weekend or bank holiday.
However, those who receive money on a more frequent basis - such as weekly, fortnightly, or monthly - could see their benefit scrapped completely in the worst case scenario. If you are on Universal Credit and your company has decided to pay staff early, then you should flag the issue with payroll as soon as possible to avoid payment cuts or alterations.
People on benefits should also be aware of some payments being made early due to the Christmas and New Year bank holidays. Normally, if your benefit payment falls on a bank holiday, then you should receive your cash the previous working day.
If your money does get sent early, it means your bank account will be replenished sooner than expected following the busy festive season. But this does mean you’ll need to make your cash last longer.
Make sure you budget in January to take any payment changes into account.
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