2020 Guide to Universal Credit

Universal Credit is the UK’s centralised benefit system. Previously, individuals and families entitled to financial support from the government would claim a combination of six different benefits. Now, Universal Credit has merged all of these remunerations into one monthly payment.

What Has Universal Credit Replaced?

Universal Credit has replaced the following individual payment benefits.

Child Tax Credit – a tax credit available to families that live with dependent children below the age of 16. If your child is in approved further education, this age limit increases to 20.
Housing Benefit – funding to help cover accommodation payments for the unemployed, disabled, pensioner or those on very low incomes.
Income Support – a supplementary payment to increase the take-home pay of families on low incomes and help cover living expenses.
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) – payable to individuals that are presently unemployed and actively seeking work. JSA eligibility is dependent on having made National Insurance contributions in the previous two years.
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – ESA replaces JSA for individuals that are unable to work due to illness or disability.
Working Tax Credits – payable to working individuals on a low income. Tax credits are designed to reduce tax payments.

Universal Credit payments vary from case to case. How much money you are entitled to depends on your personal circumstances. Use the government’s official benefits calculator to learn how much you can expect to receive. Be aware that if you may not be eligible for Universal Credit if you have savings.

Benefit Eligibility Calculators

One of the easiest ways to find out what benefits you are eligible for is to use a benefits calculator. Some of the best ones are:

EntitledTo
PolicyinPractice
Turn2Us

Elements to Universal Credit

Universal credit is made up of many different elements. Your personal circumstances determine which elements you are eligible for. The elements are as follows:

Standard Rate
Housing costs
Carer element
Child element
Childcare costs element
Limited capability for work element (This was discontinued for many claimants from 3 April 2017)
Limited capability for work-related activity element (LCWRA)

Standard Rate

The standard rate of Universal Credit is as follows:

Single person aged under 25: £251.77 per month
Single person aged 25 or over: £317.82 per month
Joint claimants both aged under 25: £395.20 per month
Joint claimants either aged 25 or over: £498.89 per month

Housing Element

The housing element of Universal Credit can be used to cover rental costs on your home. This may be a local authority-owned building or a private rental. There will be a cap associated with how much you will receive. Universal Credit may not cover your entire rent. In this instance, you will be expected to cover any shortfall yourself.

Universal Credit is not typically paid straight to a landlord or landlady. You will receive the funds directly into your bank account. You will then be expected to manage your financial commitments accordingly and come to a private arrangement with the owner of your home. Failure to do so leaves you at the risk of eviction.

The exception to this is if you fall behind on rent payments. In this instance, discuss the possibility of an Alternative Payment Arrangement. This will typically see DWP pay your landlord or landlady directly, removing the sum from your Universal Credit payments.

An APA will typically be made in instalments, so your landlord or landlady will need to agree to this. They will retain the legal right to refuse this and expect repayment in full. Most homeowners that accept tenants on Universal Credit will be sympathetic and understanding of financial difficulties, though.

Temporary or emergency housing is not covered by Universal Credit. This covers shelters or other forms of short-term accommodation. In these instances, speak to your local council about housing benefit.

Carer’s Element

This element is worth £160.20 per month. You may be eligible if you are caring for someone for at least 35 hours per week.

Child Element

This element is worth £231.67 per month. Due to a change in the rules, you may receive the higher amount of £277.08 if your first or only child was born before 6th April 2017.

Childcare Costs Element

This element is for parents who are working and paying for registered childcare.

This element covers 85% of your childcare costs, up to £646.35 for a single child and up to £1,108.04 for more than one child. The maximum isn’t increased for additional children.

Limited capability for work elements

This element is for people who have a limited capability for work due to a disability. To qualify you will need to have a Work Capability Assessment. More information about what this entails can be found on the disabilityrightsuk.org website.

The rules are a little complex because they changed the elements on 3rd April 2017. There are two limited capability for work elements:

Limited capability for work element (LCW)
Limited capability for work and work related activity element (LCWWRA)

Limited capability for work element (LCW) – This is worth £126.11 per month. However, from 3rd April 2017. This element is not available to claimants who get Universal Credit on or after this date unless they received the work-related activity component of Employment and Support Allowance before they claimed Universal Credit); or

Limited capability for work-related activity element (LCWRA) – The LCWWRA element is included in the highest amount if the DWP find the claimant has a limited capability for work-related activity. This is worth £336.20 per month.

How to Claim Universal Credit

Universal Credit is managed online. You will need an internet connection to claim Universal Credit. The fact that you are reading this suggests that you have online access. If you struggle, you can use the internet for free at your local library.

Use this link to apply for Universal Credit. You will likely need to attend an appointment at your local job centre to finalise your application. Note that, if you co-habit with a partner, you must apply for Universal Credit as a couple. You do not have to be married, but you must share an address.

Be aware that it will take five weeks to receive your first Universal Credit payment. This may cause financial hardship. If this is the case, you can apply for a Universal Credit Advance.

Think of this as an interest-free loan. The repayments will be taken in instalments from your future Universal Credit payments.

Universal Credit Sanctions

Receiving Universal Credit payments is dependent upon meeting certain expectations. This is called your claimant commitment.

If you fail to meet these expectations, you will be sanctioned. This means that your payments will be withheld for a set time.

Sanctions vary depending on your personal circumstances.

Single people aged under 25 will be sanctioned £8.20 per day.
Couples, both aged under 25, will be sanctioned £6.40 per day.
Single people aged over 25 will be sanctioned £10.40 per day.
Couples, in which one or both are aged over 25, will be sanctioned £8.20 per day.

Sanctions are divided into three categories. The length of the sanction varies, depending on this category.

Low Level Sanctions

Examples of low-level sanctions are:

Failing to attend a job interview arranged by the job centre.
Failing to attend a course arranged by the job centre.
Failing to attend a scheduled job centre appointment to sign on.
Failing to provide DWP with important or evidentiary documents when requested.

Low-level sanctions usually last seven days, plus the time taken to rectify the issue.

For example, if you are scheduled to sign on at 9am on Tuesday but miss the appointment, you can reschedule for 9am on Thursday. This will result in a sanction of nine days (7 days flat rate, 2 days additional.)

Medium Level Sanctions

Medium-level sanctions are typically related to the search for work. You may face this sanction if the job centre feels that you are not taking the search for work seriously enough. This could involve not providing evidence of job hunting or failing to attend work without a good reason.

The standard medium-level sanction is 31 days. If this is not your first medium-level sanction in a twelve-month period, this could increase to 91 days.

High Level Sanctions

High-level sanctions are related to behaviours that the DWP considers to be seriously violations of your claimant commitment. Examples of this could be:

Rejecting an offer of employment arranged by the job centre.
Leaving a job without good reason, and not agreeing this in advance with DWP.

A standard high-level sanction will last 91 days. If this is not your first high-level sanction in the same year, this period could increase to 128 days, or even 1,095 days.

Trouble Paying Bills on Universal Credit

Sanctions on Universal Credit seem counterproductive. If you are struggling to make ends meet, fining you is hardly going to help. Alas, this is the nature of the beast. Fortunately, sanctions can be appealed.

If you are struggling to meet your financial commitments on Universal Credit, make an urgent appointment with your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau. You can also seek advice online if you are unable to attend an appointment in person.

There are also a range of sources available to help anybody struggling to make ends meet.

Emergency Hardship Loans

Struggling to pay bills and meeting financial obligations is stressful. It often plunges people into debt, which can become a vicious circle. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of unscrupulous businesses offering high-risk, high-interest loans.

Before approaching a private enterprise, speak to your local council. You may eligible for an interest-free budgeting loan.

Typically, these loans will be provided for a particular expense. This may be the repair bill for a broken essential appliance, such as a cooker or a washing machine. You can also apply for this loan to pay for a child’s school uniform or a suit for a job interview.

Even if your local council is unable to provide you with a loan, they will not refuse to help. In addition food banks, local councils may be able to provide vouchers that pay for food or furniture.

Utility Bills

Nobody should be forced to choose between food or warmth during the winter. Reducing the expenses associated with your home will help with this.

Check if you are eligible for the government’s Warm Home Discount Scheme. Pensioners and low-income families can receive a £140 discount in their heating bill if eligible for this scheme.

If this is not applicable, use a facility like Simply Switch to find a cheaper alternative. If you do not wish to change suppliers, learn if your current supplier runs any discount schemes of their own. These include:

You could also speak to a charity, such as Charis, that specialises in offering grants to people in need.

Food and Groceries

If you are struggling to feed your family, turn to a food bank for assistance. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau will be able to advise on where your local food bank is located. Check the website of the Trussell Trust, too. This charity manages food banks all over the UK.

Debt Management

If you are already struggling with your finances, debt will only make things worse. If you find your levels of debt spiralling, seek help. The sooner you take action, the sooner you will regain control over your affairs.

There are numerous charitable organisations dedicated to offering debt advice. You can also contact the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, though some people are reluctant to do so. Debt is a very personal issue.

Charities to contact include:

A debt charity will be able to assist with drawing up a payment plan and may even speak to your creditors for you. By consolidating your outgoings, you will find that you have more money available for everyday necessities.

You may need to enter an Independent Voluntary Arrangement or IVA. This means that a company will contact your creditors, drawing up a monthly repayment plan that is affordable to you and writing off the rest of the debt. Typically, this will be 1p for every pound that is owed.

Be aware that an IVA means that you will be unable to take out any credit arrangements for at least five years, and your credit rating may be impacted for a while afterwards. It is an effective way to manage debt and regain control of your finances, but it is not a decision to take lightly.

Information compiled by Lisa Manners lisa@lisamanners.co.uk Updated February 2020