Applying for UC

CharlotteElizabeth

Hello,
My fixed term contract is coming to an end in 2.5 weeks and I was wondering if I could start my UC claim now as long as I put in my correct last day of work on the application. 
I'm trying to enrol on a part time college course and I have been told I won't be eligible for fee remission unless I have a UC entitlement letter. My last day of work is 4th Sept and I was due to enroll on the 7th for my course. I can't afford the £700 it would cost without fee. remission

I've had 8 interviews in the last 6 weeks and have got none of the jobs so I've decided to retrain in something close to the field I'm already in but without becoming qualified I won't be able to expand the job market I'm able to apply for.
I'm not sure how to proceed

poppy12345

CharlotteElizabeth said:

Hello,
My fixed term contract is coming to an end in 2.5 weeks and I was wondering if I could start my UC claim now as long as I put in my correct last day of work on the application. 
I'm trying to enrol on a part time college course and I have been told I won't be eligible for fee remission unless I have a UC entitlement letter. My last day of work is 4th Sept and I was due to enroll on the 7th for my course. I can't afford the £700 it would cost without fee. remission

I've had 8 interviews in the last 6 weeks and have got none of the jobs so I've decided to retrain in something close to the field I'm already in but without becoming qualified I won't be able to expand the job market I'm able to apply for.
I'm not sure how to proceed

When starting a new claim for UC it is always advised to start the claim after you've received your final wages from working, otherwise the earnings you receive during your UC assessment period will reduce your UC by 63% if you don't have the work allowance. This could reduce your first UC payment to zero and will mean that you'll have to wait another month before receive any money.

Spoonie_Turtle

If your main concern is the fee remission I was going to say the lower or possibly no payment of UC might be worth claiming before your final wage, but your first statement would be 4 weeks after starting your claim so it would still come too late for enrolling on the course. You would have to see if they would accept evidence that you are claiming, but actual entitlement won't be established until after the first 4 weeks (the UC assessment period).

When is your last payment date from work?

huckster

As has been pointed out, even if you applied for UC today, you won't be issued with a UC statement ( which acts as entitlement confirmation) until about 19th September.  From what I can tell from College fee remission information, most want evidence of an out of work benefit being paid within 3 months of the college course start date.  And given that you are due a last employment pay in early September, any UC statement is going to show the employment earnings. 

So not sure about the eligibility for fee remission based on the information in your post.  Suggest that you contact the College to ask for more information on this.

CharlotteElizabeth

I'm going to phone them today - I worked in a college for years but it was private so we didn't learn anything about fee remission

I'm going to have to email HR and see what the deal with pay is as I get paid on the 28th of a month however I'm going to be working till the 4th which will result in a payment on 28th September I think.