DRO and Partner applying for UC - Advice Please!

TRX808

Hello everyone, hope you are doing well and healthy. 

Just wanted to check this with you: My partner was made redundant recently and now considering to apply for Universal Credit until new job opportunity shows up.
just at very beginning of application this it what is says:
 ""You and your partner need to claim together. You cannot claim by yourself.
What you'll get depends on your circumstances as a couple, including your incomes.
You still need to make a joint claim if your partner is working, or is in the UK on a visa.""
I'm on DRO and moratorium period ends in February 24th. (2021) I just wanted to check if this would affect either my DRO or Universal Credit application? 

Thanks a lot in advance and stay safe

MalMonroe

This was released by this very site, only yesterday: 
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/redundancy-help/#already-redundant

And you can always ask Citizens Advice.

Or, if you used one of the debt help agencies to set up your DRO, contact them and ask for advice.

fatbelly

It shouldn't be a problem - UC is not that generous. Make a claim (it's joint) if you are entitled to help.

liggerz87

I'm on uc and have a debt relief order 

sourcrates

If anything your financial situation will worsen, as UC is likely to be a lot less than what your partners earning where previously.

For DRO purposes this is good, as you won`t lose out due to the £50 disposable income criteria.

I wouldn`t worry, as long as you still meet the criteria, which you should, you`ll be fine.

TRX808

Thank you everyone so much for your help, I have applied yesterday and will keep you posted if anyone is in similar situation / interested about progress. 

Thanks again

TRX808

Hello everyone,  just wanted to update that this is the reply I got from StepChange today: 

"""If your entitled to Universal Credit as a joint claim, you will be entitled to half the payment. Therefore we will need to know how much you will be receiving. We can revisit and amend your budget to ensure you are still within criteria so your DRO is not affected.

We would recommend you get in touch with us once you know what your entitlement is. If you have more than £50.00 left at the end of the month once we deduct your expenses from your updated income, this can impact your DRO. You may have had to take over more expenses since your partner has lost his job and income has reduced so once you know you’re entitled please call us to review the budget."""

So that means I'll have to revise my budget and get in touch with them? Because as far as I understand half of universal credit amount will technically be added to my usual wage and that will be my new monthly income figure? Again, probably I'm overthinking things here but I just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly until this moratorium period is over. 

Thanks again for your help 

Nac505

I’m in the exact same situation.. my DRO has been granted but my partner has just lost his job and now we’ve had to set up a joint claim for UC. We are going to be worse off financially than when he was working anyways but I gather from the above, I’ll need to contact the DRO team to inform them of this? Such a nightmare..