Universal Credit and Ending a fixed term contract

ikcdab

I have been working as an apprentice and correctly claiming unviersal credit. I am paid the standard rate, plus housing element and also limited capability for work supplement. This has all gone well and DWP has correctly reduced my unviersal credit payments depending on my wages.
My assessment period is mid-month to mid-month, but my wages are based on a calendar month and paid at the end of the month.
As I have had continuous employment, this has been OK.

But at the end of May my apprenticeship came to an end and I became unemployed.
The assessment period that this falls into is 15 May to 14 June, so for half of the assessment period I have been unemployed and I have earned no money. However, DWP have taken my wages as paid at the end of May and applied the full amount to the whole assessment period. So for the first two weeks of June, I have earned no money but my UC has been reduced as if i have.
I have spoken to DWP and was pretty much told "hard luck, thats the way it is". I accept that when I am paid my UC in mid July, which covers the period 15 June to 14 July, all should be OK, but those first two weeks of June when I earned nio money will never catch up.
What I think DWP should have done is to apply just two weeks wages to my June UC payment, rather than the full amount. But i was told they cannot do that.
Is there anything I can do?
Thanks

calcotti

The earnings applied to the assessment period are the earnings received in the assessment period. They are not allocated on a week by week basis.

w06

if you received a full month's wages at the end of May then a full month of wages will rightly be taken into account for UC

tomtom256

ikcdab wrote: »

I have been working as an apprentice and correctly claiming unviersal credit. I am paid the standard rate, plus housing element and also limited capability for work supplement. This has all gone well and DWP has correctly reduced my unviersal credit payments depending on my wages.
My assessment period is mid-month to mid-month, but my wages are based on a calendar month and paid at the end of the month.
As I have had continuous employment, this has been OK.

But at the end of May my apprenticeship came to an end and I became unemployed.
The assessment period that this falls into is 15 May to 14 June, so for half of the assessment period I have been unemployed and I have earned no money. However, DWP have taken my wages as paid at the end of May and applied the full amount to the whole assessment period. So for the first two weeks of June, I have earned no money but my UC has been reduced as if i have.
I have spoken to DWP and was pretty much told "hard luck, thats the way it is". I accept that when I am paid my UC in mid July, which covers the period 15 June to 14 July, all should be OK, but those first two weeks of June when I earned nio money will never catch up.
What I think DWP should have done is to apply just two weeks wages to my June UC payment, rather than the full amount. But i was told they cannot do that.
Is there anything I can do?
Thanks

What I think they should have done and what legislations states they have to do are two different things.

Any income received in an assessment period will be classed as income and your award will be reduced in accordance with the earnings taper, same as it is for everyone who claims UC.

So in short, no there is not anything you can do.

ikcdab

Thank you for all of your replies.