UC and seasonal work

dc64

Hi.
My son came off UC 4 months ago to do a seasonal job ft. When it ends is it best for him to complete the change of circumstances to re apply the day the job ends or should he wait till he gets his last wages which will be a week later?

calcotti

For a new claim it would be better to wait until until after receiving final wages because the assessment period would start from the date of claim. If wages were paid before the claim they would be ignored whereas if paid after the date of claim they would be taken into account.

However because he has been on UC within the last six months it shouldn't make a difference. He should still have access to his online journal. He can make a rapid reclaim via the journal. Because it is less than six months since he was last getting UC the assessment period should run from the same day of the month as it did previously. His next payment date will follow the previous payment dates.

If the level of earnings would result in a nil award in the assessment period within which the wages are received then the logical date to reapply is any date in the assessment period which starts after the wages have been paid.

However, given that UC in practice and UC in theory do sometimes differ, I would be inclined to apply the day after he receives the final payment anyway. If UC works as it is supposed to this may result in a UC calculation showing a nil entitlement for that assessment period in which case his claim may be closed again but he can then reapply as soon as the next assessment period starts.