When to claim UC

Just a quick background.

Started a temp' job but it did not work out. The agency mislead the employer about my experience, claiming I am experienced in one skill set when in reality I have only worked within a different specialism / skill set. It has been so stressful and then I experienced an episode of illness and had to leave. I am not working but still waiting for the payment from the agency.

Should I:-

A) Wait until I am paid, so that nothing is owed to me by the agency when I claim UC.

B) Apply now, in the knowledge that my wages will cancel out my first UC payment?

I am aware that UC takes 5 weeks. I am expecting my wages before that.

I signed off when I began the job, and I have been paid outstanding JSA up to the last date of my claim. I did the job for 3 days and was ill on day 4.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Caker wrote:Just a quick background.

Started a temp' job but it did not work out. The agency mislead the employer about my experience, claiming I am experienced in one skill set when in reality I have only worked within a different specialism / skill set. It has been so stressful and then I experienced an episode of illness and had to leave. I am not working but still waiting for the payment from the agency.

Should I:-

A)  Wait until I am paid, so that nothing is owed to me by the agency when I claim UC.

B)  Apply now, in the knowledge that my wages will cancel out my first UC payment?

I am aware that UC takes 5 weeks. I am expecting my wages before that.

I signed off when I began the job, and I have been paid outstanding JSA up to the last date of my claim. I did the job for 3 days and was ill on day 4.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry to read the job did not work out Caker.

Applying for UC at the right time:

Usually it’s best to apply for Universal Credit as soon as you can. That way you’ll get your first payment sooner.

If you’ve lost your job, it can be worth waiting until you get your final payment from work. If you apply before then, your last payment will reduce your first Universal Credit payment.

It can still be better to apply for Universal Credit straight away if you’d have to wait a long time for your last payment or if you don’t expect to be paid very much. Contact your nearest Citizens Advice if you’re not sure when to apply.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/apply-for-universal-credit/

Hope this helps.

it's entirely your choice based on what you feel is right for your circumstances... but personally i would wait until i had recieved the wages and make the application for uc the day after. this is because your assessment period will start on the date you make the application online.

essentially you are delaying your first UC payment by one day, each day you wait to apply.
if you applied today (13th feb) your first UC payment would be expected on March 19th.
this is with an assessment period of 13th feb - 12th mar and payment would be made 7 days later

apply tomorrow and expect your first payment on March 20th. etc etc

you also have the option of taking out an advance loan to tide you over for the 5 week wait. you are also able to defer paying it back for 3 months.

Thanks ND and Dylan

Because I am in a professional occupation, I am expecting my wages to be more than 1 month of UC, even for this short period of work. On that basis, do either of you know whether my UC will be reduced in 2 payment periods? i.e, will any 'excess' earned amount get carried over to reduce what UC I get in the 2nd payment period of my claim, IYSWIM, even though I will only receive 1 wage slip?

I suppose what I am asking is does UC get reduced until it is deemed that the person's earnings exactly mirror what they would have received in UC in the same period so that no one, even if earning, will receive more than if they had been claiming UC for the whole period.

Sorry if my query is clumsy, but I just cannot find any info' on this.

sorry to read this caker

as goes for agency I find it stupid that they have to lie theres just no need for it what makes it worse it makes the workers look bad when its the fault on the agency in the first place

that can also have an affect if you go near the place again for your own job set skills

This is really all I could find

turn2us wrote:Taper rate
The taper rate is the rate at which your maximum Universal Credit award is reduced as your earnings increase.

A taper rate of 63% means losing 63p of your maximum Universal Credit award for every £1 you earn over your work allowance.

Your earnings will be assessed monthly to ensure your Universal Credit award is always accurate. The assessment period begins with the first date of entitlement and will then run from the same date each month during your award.

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Universal-Credit-income-and-capital/Earnings#guide-content

@Admin

Thanks admin'.

The place I went to was miles away from home (stayed in digs) and the workplace was not very friendly. The agency had huge problems getting someone for the job. When the manager told me what the agency said about my experience, I set them straight and said that the agency had never discussed with me what was expected.

what youve experienced is the dirty side to the agency system

it was there years ago when i was in my teens - 20s

where a set of skills is miss quoted so they get clients to do the job from there agency

many lost there jobs due to the agency when they had just signed off for the agency job thinking they had a job months or years

even the jobs that state months or a year aint true with agency work as its just a lie it could be a day or days not a month or 6 months like the job states

its part of reason why i refuse agency jobs been there done that and worn the t shirt know most of the dirty tricks agency use

and jcp call that a job its fake and a lie at best of times

@admin'

I agree. I only decided to turn to agency work because I was not getting anywhere with anything else. I have certainly given the agency my frank opinion about how this has been handled.

Caker,

The taper only applies if you're declaring current work.

Income from your last job will only affect your UC award if you receive your final pay after you claim UC.

Even when there was a 7 day waiting period, earnings received before the end of the 7 waiting days were not not taken into account.

Waiting day are days of non entitlement to UC and the Assessment period does not start until entitlement starts which is after the 7 waiting days following the date of claim. Therefore any final earnings received during the waiting days period are not taken into account. Only earnings received during the assessment period are taken into account. There is therefore no regulation which says that income must be taken into account during the waiting days period. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/356162/universal-credit-waiting-days-explanatory-memorandum.pdf

Does this make sense?

Thanks ND. That is very helpful actually. It will help me to time my application for the best outcome. Cheers.

slightly off-topic but another thing - after youve made the application online i think you have 7 days to call up and book your first appointment. it doesnt really matter as much but try and tactically time this too as i had a right result.

i made the application on a thursday. waited until the following wednesday to call up. they told me the next available appointment was for the following wednesday. which meant i'd run the clock down for 2 weeks without going to that awful place. and even then the first appointment was just to confirm my identity. i didnt meet my work coach until a week later which just felt like a sort of introduction and to agree my claimant commitment. no job search evidence required.

and then i think by the time i had my first "job search review", i got my first payment around 5 days later

basically if you call up at the first opportunity then it might be the case you have 2 or 3 jobsearch reviews before your first payment

you don't win anything for getting into the jobcentre as quickly as possible so why bother

Thanks D, that makes sense. My work payday is next week, so I planned to claim online the following day.

What do they want ID wise? I have no photo ID. Is that something they want?
I presume they want a phone number too (I have no phone ).

Do they pay UC into a PO card a/c?

Is all communication via the journal i.e. no more brown envelopes.

Sorry for the inquisition.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Thats good. Means you should get a full months money of UC. Very much worth waiting for IMO, especially with the advance you can get to tide you over. Remember you don't need to take the full amount if you don't want to.

ID wise I provided proof of my national insurance (old payslip), and my passport.
I have a bank account and no experience of Post Office accounts, but hopefully these may help

ID
https://universalcreditinfo.net/myths/i-must-have-photo-ID-to-start-a-claim
PO account
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/uc_payments_into_post_office_car

According to that foi request from 2017, payments to po accounts are fine. havent found anything to suggest that has changed. as long as it is in your name is the most important thing i believe.

Thanks D, very helpful.