Universal credit

flick24

Hope someone can clear this up, I've been looking online can't find a straightforward answer.
We have just moved to a new area which is full universal credit, we have a joint claim (one child) I'm not used to the new system at all.
I intend to find work very shortly looking at around 30 hours per week possibly more , if its a joint claim are both people expected to work a minimum of 35 hours or can it be shared between the two claimants, my partner generally is self employed so work is not always available regularly especially during winter months, would we be sanctioned even if my hours were over 35.

pmlindyloo

Have you actually applied for Universal Credit?

As this is a joint claim then you will both have claimant commitments. These will be geared to your individual circumstances and cover things such as disabilities and child care responsibilities.

Much will depend on how many hours a week you will work and how much you and your partner earn.

Have found something that may help.

Conditionality Earnings Threshold The Conditionality Earnings Threshold (CET) ensures that claimants earning above a certain level will not be asked to carry out work-related activity. The CET is calculated on an individual basis, by multiplying the National Minimum Wage (NMW) by the hours a claimant’s Expected hours.

The CET for a household is a combination of the individual expected CET of each of the adults (joint claimants or including an ineligible partner of a claimant) in the household and varies between different households. In a couple household, if one of the adults earns above the household CET, both claimants are placed in the working enough regime, regardless of if they are both working or not.

So basically, each of you will be expected to work a certain number of hours according to your individual circumstances. These hours are then multiplied by the NMW and give the household expected CET.

If one of you earns above that household CET then the other will not be expected to do work related activities.

Hope I've read it correctly!

This may be a problem if your partner's hours with self employment are not regular. Not sure how this would work so you would need to ask your work coach.

calcotti

I agree with pmlindyloo. Also explained here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/728459/admj2.pdf at para J2088. For a couple without any caring responsible or other restrictions the expectation would therefore be to earn 70 hours x NMW per week but it doesn’t matter whether this all earned by one person or split between the two. In your case the expectation may be lower depending on the age of your child.