Some people on Universal Credit will unexpectedly miss out on the Department for Work and Pension's cost of living payment. It has been reported thousands of universal credit claimants will be blocked from the payment due to a payday issue, despite people expecting to see the first instalment of £326 enter their accounts between July 14 and July 31 - and a further £324 later this year.
MPs are saying hundreds of thousands of people are set to be "unfairly excluded" from the payment, as Universal Credit claimants were among the 8.3 million low-income households that were expected to receive the payment. The problem is due to the qualifying period for the cost of living payment, and if it matches the way people get their wages, reports Birmingham Live.
The DWP and HMRC use a computer program to identify who is eligible to receive the payment, but for many benefit claimants, the computer says no. To receive the first instalment of £326, people must be entitled to a payment, or later found to be entitled to a payment, of universal credit for an assessment.
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Or recipients must have been entitled to a payment, or later found to be entitled to a payment, of income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Income Support or Pension Credit for any day in the period of April 26, 2022 to May 25, 2022. Of the 5.8 million people on Universal Credit, about 40% are working, and for some the way their wages are paid does not meet the qualifying period for the first payment.
Another recent revelation showed that anyone who has a nil award of Universal Credit in the April 26 to May 25 assessment because their wages were too high to get any benefit on top, will not receive the £326 payment either.
BirminghamLive was told by one claimant that they would miss out on the payment due to their wages being paid on a four-weekly basis rather than per calendar month. They said: "I get paid every four weeks which means 13 pay days a year, therefore once a year I get paid twice in that timescale for Universal Credit, so I am not eligible for the payment because of this, Not because I've earned more.
"I contacted Universal Credit and they said they couldn't do anything, they just get told whether someone is eligible." The DWP has issued a statement that said: "The vast majority of existing recipients of Universal Credit will qualify for a cost of living payment but inevitably a small number will be ineligible on the qualification dates because of a change of income, earnings or other circumstance.
"Earnings patterns can vary substantially and it would be impossible to choose qualifying dates that work for every single person on Universal Credit, however, autumn's second qualifying date reduces the risk that those with non-monthly pay periods that were ineligible for the first payment, miss out altogether. For any individuals that are not eligible for this support, or for families that need additional support, the Government is providing an additional £500 million to help vulnerable households and from October 2022, domestic electricity customers will receive a £400 discount on their bills."
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