Am I not eligible for Universal Credit until after my last wage payment?

jamesmorgan

UC timetables are quite complex (and certainly more complex than tax credits which were based on annual income). UC splits the year into monthly assessment periods and looks at income in each of these periods. Unless you are self-employed, income is treated as the amount and date the money is received and not the period being worked for. To maximise your UC payments it makes sense to put in your claim 7 days before your last salary payment. You won't get any UC payments until 6 weeks after your claim, but this should be balanced by the period you start your next job - when you should continue receiving payments until your first salary payment.

The following link explains this in a bit more detail.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles

Cheeky_Monkey

Johanno wrote: »

Did I mention at any point that I was worried that my wages this month wouldn't last me? That's not what my question or my point relates to at all. I am asking if I am entitled to any benefits for the time since Friday 16th June, when I finished working.

So why do you think that you should receive benefits if you have enough money to last until your big payout?

So, in answer to your question, no of course you're not entitled to any benefits from 16 - 28 June.

TELLIT01

The relevant point is the UC question about amount of income. UC will take your final income and make a calculation based on that amount to determine elegibility to UC. In this instance the amount the OP will receive as final pay from employment converts to more than the weekly amount which would be paid on UC.
It isn't a simple case that being paid on the 28th automatically precludes claiming UC before that date. The OP has asked a simple question so I really don't understand the aggression in some of the replies. That said, it's sadly far from unusual!

Johanno

jamesmorgan wrote: »

UC timetables are quite complex (and certainly more complex than tax credits which were based on annual income). UC splits the year into monthly assessment periods and looks at income in each of these periods. Unless you are self-employed, income is treated as the amount and date the money is received and not the period being worked for. To maximise your UC payments it makes sense to put in your claim 7 days before your last salary payment. You won't get any UC payments until 6 weeks after your claim, but this should be balanced by the period you start your next job - when you should continue receiving payments until your first salary payment.

Thank you jamesmorgan, for the link and for actually attempting to help me! I don't think it's possible to claim 7 days before though as the online form only asks if you are being paid any time in the next month and then closes you out if so.

It may be how I worded my initial post, which I wrote quickly, but people here seem to be getting hung up on my personal circumstances. I’m only trying to understand the terms correctly since the telephone helpline adviser I spoke to yesterday was not all that clear. I’ll try an example;

2 people, both earning the same amount, both always paid on the 28th

Person A;
Work ends 27th June
Last Pay c£1400 28th June
Eligible to claim 28th June
£1400 to last 6 weeks until Universal Credit payment

Person B:
Work ends 2nd of June
Last pay c£340 28th June
Eligible to claim 28th June
£340 to last 6 weeks until Universal Credit payment

Also, Person A earns Universal Credit 7 days from when they are unemployed (including waiting period) but Person B earns Universal Credit only after 33 days (including waiting period) after unemployment.

Effectively, you are penalised if your job finishes further away from your next payment? Is that correct?

Cheeky_Monkey

Johanno wrote: »

By the 28th, I will also have been out of work and not earning for nearly 2 weeks (assuming I haven't found work). It seems like I'm losing benefits just because I finished my job in the middle of the month rather than the end!

This is why I have responded in that way - the OP seems to think they are 'entitled' to benefits even though they have already been advised that they don't qualify as they are expecting more than enough money within the next month.

Tammykitty

Johanno wrote: »

I have been made redundant and my last day of work was Friday. I am due to get my last wages, including outstanding holiday (and hopefully my statutory redundancy pay) on the 28th of this month.
Because of the above I answered Yes to the question “Are you expecting take-home pay of £338 or more in the next month?” and was told “You cannot claim Universal Credit”
Does this mean I am not entitled to anything for the period between now and 7 days (the “waiting period”) after I get my last pay packet?

Can you ask your previous employer to pay your last payment before the normal monthly pay run?

TELLIT01

Johanno wrote: »

Effectively, you are penalised if your job finishes further away from your next payment? Is that correct?

Not really. In both the examples you gave the person would have received more in their final pay than UC would pay on a weekly basis. UC would take those earning into account £ for £ and therefore there is no entitlement to UC for that period. It wouldn't make any difference to UC entitlement whether the amount from the final pay was £1 or £1000 over the limit.