Self-employed Universal Credit

Tuesday1510

Hello,
My partner is a self-employed builder and was claiming Universal Credit whilst waiting for the self employed scheme grant payment. 
Can anybody tell me when he is supposed to stop claiming for Universal Credit? He is eligible for the second self-employed grant so I am assuming he can carry on claiming UC? He is starting to work a bit, but I am understood you are allowed to do this and still claim as long as your work is affected somewhat by coronavirus. But he would stop claiming for UC at what point? Thank you.

poppy12345

You should be claiming as a couple if you're living together. UC can be paid even if you're working. Earnings will affect the amount of UC the you're entitled to and will reduce it by 63% for earnings received during your assessment period if you don't have a work allowance. When the SEISS is received your partner needs to report this on their journal along with expenses and it will reduce the UC by 63%. The UC will end only end if earnings reduce it to zero.

Pepper_Tree

Yes, you can continue claiming UC until the rules applying to the income minimum floor are reinstated, these were amended because of the Covid restrictions preventing self-employed people working.  Normally the minimum income floor would assume you were earning at least minimum wage for a certain number of hours per week, even when you didn't, which would normally mean (unless certain conditions apply to your circumstances) you couldn't claim UC.  However, due to Covid you continue to claim UC and simply declare your SEISS (self employed grant) in your monthly income statement along with any business expenses incurred including a claim for use of home if you use your home for work - there is guidance on the monthly declaration about this.  

Depending on your own circumstances and the amount of SEISS your UC may be amended for the month it was received and in some situations for a few months after (some complicated rules on surplus income come into play which may mean some of the SEISS if in excess of £2,500, after taking into account your UC allowance, may be carried forward and deemed to be income in the following months). 

If by any chance your UC claim is closed down (as I understand can sometimes happen) simply reopen it straight away and the claim will then just continue month on month with you declaring each month and your UC support calculated on that month's circumstances until the special Covid rules change.  There haven't been any announcement as to when the special rules will be retracted hopefully not immediately as it may take some of us a while to get back up to pre Covid profit levels and any additional support, no matter how limited is helpful.

Pepper_Tree

PS. in addition to the SEISS claim income you would also need to include any income earned from the self-employment each month.

With regard to claiming the second SEISS payment the same declaration will have to be made for the August payment as to the first payment ie. the self-employment is still adversely affected by Covid etc.  It would be a mis-representation (with possible future repercussions - see the SEISS guidance on false claims) to claim either of the SEISS payments if the business wasn't adversely affected by the Covid restrictions on the self-employed.