Mum may soon be laid off; can she claim UC?

Thesunshinesonme

Hello,

My mum believes she might lose her job in retail - she just isn't able to meet the targets.

She receives £140 per month, from her ex-husband.  It is a non-taxable, voluntary payment, not bound by law.  Would this affect a potential claim for Universal Credit?

I'd love her to leave: the conditions are bad.

She recently started her shift to find a plastic bag on her chair. The employee on the previous shift had wet themselves, soaking the chair. Which means that my mum had to spend the shift sitting in someone else's urine.

This has happened before. Management will not let people off the till to go to the toilet, because it interrupts their work flow. The till operators sometimes, just can't help it.

My mum just opts not to drink all day, which gives her screaming headaches.

She has crumbling of her spine too, which although not a disability, does mean the job is sometimes very physically demanding for her.

Many thanks.

Rubyroobs

As long as she doesn't have savings over 16k then yes she could claim UC. She could be sanctioned for leaving a job without good reason. It sounds like an awful place to work. If her spinal problems limit the number of hours she can work then she could hand in sick notes to Uc stipulating only part time work etc. If the payment is spousal maintenance, then sorry I'm not sure whether that is counted as income for UC, child maintenance is definitely disregarded but I'm not sure about spousal.

calcotti

Spousal maintenance payments would be taken into account for UC in full.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/965132/admh5.pdf

H5080 Maintenance payments for the claimant or partner made by a spouse, civil partner, former spouse or former civil partner should be taken fully into account. This includes payments made

1. under a court order or

2. under an agreement for maintenance (which can be voluntary).

Note: Spousal maintenance is not the same as maintenance paid in respect of a child. Child maintenance is not taken into account as income.

poppy12345

If the £140 from her ex is spousal maintenance then it's classed as income and will reduce her UC £1 for £1. If it's child maintenance then it's disregarded.

If her health condition limits her capability to work then she could claim New style ESA if she's paid the correct amount of NI contributions in tax years April 2018 to March 2020. She will need a fit note from her GP to be able to claim this.

If she claims UC as wel as ESA then the ESA will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. As advised, any savings/capital of more than £16,000 will exclude her from UC.

Use a benefits calculator to check entitlement. She should also wait until she receives her final pay from working before claiming UC.

If she's looking for work then it's New style JSA providing she's paid the correct amount of NI contributions in tax years April 2018 to March 2020.

Thesunshinesonme

Thanks kindly to Rubyroobs, calcotti, & poppy12345.  I will pass this info on to mum.

Claddagh_Noir

That sounds like a horrible situation you described in the workplace.  I hope your mum gets things sorted for herself soon. 

tacpot12

The staff should go to the toilet if they need to. If management sack them, then management will have to cope with the extra overhead of training new staff. As a customer I would not shop in a store that did this to its workers.  

Thesunshinesonme

Thanks again to everyone who commented.

bartelbe

tacpot12 said:

The staff should go to the toilet if they need to. If management sack them, then management will have to cope with the extra overhead of training new staff. As a customer I would not shop in a store that did this to its workers.  

Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in that kind of world. Legally you are of course correct, toiler breaks are mandated by law but the law is barely enforced and there are plenty of ways a bad employers can punish staff who stand up for their rights.

Take my cousin, his contract gives him a minimum of 12 hours, with rest at the discretion of management. So what do you think would happen to him if he complained about a health and safety issue at work? Management would take away his hours and he would be screwed.

British workers are pretty much powerless to deal with bad employers.

kaMelo

bartelbe said:

tacpot12 said:

The staff should go to the toilet if they need to. If management sack them, then management will have to cope with the extra overhead of training new staff. As a customer I would not shop in a store that did this to its workers.  

Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in that kind of world. Legally you are of course correct, toiler breaks are mandated by law but the law is barely enforced and there are plenty of ways a bad employers can punish staff who stand up for their rights.

Take my cousin, his contract gives him a minimum of 12 hours, with rest at the discretion of management. So what do you think would happen to him if he complained about a health and safety issue at work? Management would take away his hours and he would be screwed.

British workers are pretty much powerless to deal with bad employers.

Of course they're not. Everyone has the freedom to leave bad employers, no one is forced to stay. Indeed, If more people exercised that freedom and left there would be fewer bad employers out there.

AvivaNightmare

kaMelo said:

Of course they're not. Everyone has the freedom to leave bad employers, no one is forced to stay. Indeed, If more people exercised that freedom and left there would be fewer bad employers out there.

Very rose tinted lenses, unfortunately many people need to work to pay bills, they dont have freedom to just up and leave, they are sanctioned if they do by DWP, left with no money to pay bills etc, the laws need changing especially around zero contract hours.