Universal Credit Claim Closed 30 May 2020 at 4:09AM in Benefits & tax credits 3 replies 211 views

Zel1da

Hi, 

I'm  currently seeking some advice. 

Due to my PILON from my former employer taking me over the threshold, my UC claim has been closed and I've been told I cannot apply again until the end of September/beginning of October. 
The person I spoke to told me to apply for JSA as I've  worked however I was let go by my employer due to ill health. 
I know at a  I can make the money last until then as I'll be mindful but are there any other benefits I could try and claim? 

calcotti

Zel1da said: Due to my PILON from my former employer taking me over the threshold, my UC claim has been closed and I've been told I cannot apply again until the end of September/beginning of October. 

That makes no sense. UC is calculated on a monthly basis. If your income has resulted in a nil award the normal advice is to immediately reclaim, this can be done by logging into your journal and doing a rapid reclaim. There will be a carry forward of surplus earnings so there could again be nil entitlement, if as a result the claim is closed you should again reclaim through your journal. In this situation it is very important to make the reclaim otherwise the surplus earnings will just sit there and not be eroded by monthly calculation.

if you do not reclaim by rapid reclaim the option to do so would stop after six months and any claim would then have to be a completely new claim - that may be where the reference to late September comes from. Any surplus earnings arising from the PILON will also be disregarded after six months.

The only reason to not do rapid reclaim and to wait six months is if is clear that you will not have any UC entitlement during that period due to the size of your PILON in relation to your UC entitlement. Given that there is a monthly £2500 disregard for the earnings carried forward you PILON needs to be over £15,000 plus at least 4 months of your maximum UC entitlement for this to be the case. If you are willing to state your maximum monthly UC entitlement, the size of your PILON and whether your UC calculation includes a Work Allowance (and if so how much) I can comment further. What dates do your UC assessment periods run from?

Robbie64

If you received PILON then you can't claim JSA for the period the PILON covers as you are classed as technically being in employment during that time. If you have health problems there is the possibility of claiming Employment and Support Allowance

https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance

You would need a fit note from your GP to claim the above.

sassy_one

You do not need to post the same question twice.