Redundancy payment and universal credit

Spoonie_Turtle

daveyjp said:

Its a terrible situation and easy to make a panic decision, but I wouldn't jump too early.  

JSA is for 6 months so you can take advantage of that payment and pay the monthly mortgage from the redundancy.

If after 6 months you don't have employment you can reconsider your options.

Without any deductions for savings, UC at the standard allowance rate is currently* more than JSA. 6 months on only JSA, that would be passing up about £560. If you have children that would greatly increase, or if you have a partner that would both increase maximum entitlement but then decrease the actual UC award if they work.

You can have £6000 in savings before any deduction is made. 

There are pros and cons, including security of having the house because you've paid up the mortgage, and losing a large amount of a financial cushion.

So it really depends on what you feel is best in your own situation, OP.

(*a temporary increase due to the pandemic, planned to drop back down to the same rate as JSA in April.)

bennyali

Thanks all. I’m looking for the security of my house being paid more then anything. I don’t want to be sat with a large sum of money in my account for 6 months and not be use it the best way possible and given the circumstances paying my mortgage off saves me a lot each month so as long as I can claim UC after I have paid my mortgage off then that’s the way I will go. I feel I have more security that way. 

bennyali

If I take voluntary redundancy does this affect my ability to claim does anyone know as im worried it’s like me leaving a job or something? 

Thanks in advance. 

poppy12345

bennyali said:

If I take voluntary redundancy does this affect my ability to claim does anyone know as im worried it’s like me leaving a job or something? 

Thanks in advance. 

Leaving a job without good reason could mean you'll be sanctioned for 26 weeks, which will make it difficult to claim any benefits.

calcotti

bennyali said:

If I take voluntary redundancy does this affect my ability to claim does anyone know as im worried it’s like me leaving a job or something? 

Thanks in advance. 

Provided there is a genuine redundancy situation, taking voluntary redundancy will not be treated as leaving a job voluntarily (and therefore without good reason) and should not affect your ability to claim UC.
See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/864951/admk3.pdf

Claimants who volunteer for redundancy
K3251 The DM should treat the claimant as not having left employment voluntarily where
1. the claimant
1.1 volunteered or agreed to be made redundant and
1.2 either
1.2.a  was dismissed by the employer or
1.2.b  was not dismissed but left on a date agreed with the employer following an agreement on voluntary redundancy or
2. the claimant had been laid off or on short-time for four weeks or six weeks out of 13 and asked the employer for a redundancy payment.

Meaning of redundant

K3252 The claimant could only volunteer or agree to be made redundant if there was a redundancy situation as defined in employment legislation. The DM can accept that there was a redundancy situation if the claimant had received a statutory redundancy payment

K3253 There was a redundancy situation as defined in employment legislation if the main or only reason for the dismissal was

1. the employer stopped or intended to stop running the business

   1.1  in which the employee was employed or

   1.2  in the place where the employee was employed or

2. the business needed or expected to need fewer employees

   2.1  to carry out a specific type of work or

   2.2  to carry out a specific type of work in the place where the employee was employed or

3. the business did not need or expected not to need any employees

   3.1  to carry out a specific type of work or

   3.2  to carry out a specific type of work in the place where the employee was employed