Proving gaps in employment wafted claiming universal credit

JaneSade7

I lost my job just before Christmas 2019 then after Covid hit our country in March 2020 struggled for months to find a job until January 2021. The country went into lockdown for the second time so was furloughed until April 2021. This was a temporary contract that ended on 29th September 2021. I have found another temporary job 

but need DBS checks to be done and they’ve requested proof of my employment gap from 2019-2021 however, UC closed my account as I earned too much to receive any top ups in income by UC so my account was closed in August just before my temporary contract ended 29th September 2021. UC have told me they are unable to provide evidence in the form of a letter as requested by Experian to carry out my DBS checks. This has created a major issie for me as I only have 14 days to prove I was unemployed and receiving UC during this time period and subsequently could lose out on a job opportunity to begin another temporary contract in January 2022. I have left messages in my UC journal and have contracted the support line on several occasion but no one is able to help me. My messages have been ignored to resolve this. The only message I have received is for an appointment booked on 11th January 2022 with a work coach at my local job centre. I am hoping to begin work before this appointment. I have suggested the system be adapted to ensure this issue doesn’t happen to anyone else; especially as most jobs are currently temporary due to the pandemic. Is there anyone who can help me resolve this frustrating issue as I am desperately in need of another job. I am single with no dependants or any family or friends to help me plus with 1 spare room I am being taxed and can not afford to live on what the government deem is enough for my basic needs to be met in line with inflation during the current global crisis. TIA Sadie 

Spoonie_Turtle

Did you download your UC statements from that time?  (A good habit, for future reference.)  If not, it might be worth seeing if they'd accept bank statements showing UC payments for the relevant time period.

JaneSade7

Thanks for your reply. No as I wasn’t aware I would need to. I had been employed for ten years prior to being bullied from my job so unfamiliar to the reformed benefits system. I have contacted my bank to request my statements and have informed Experian of the situation in addition to enquire whether this form of evidence will suffice. I hope it does as I’m certain I am not the first person to come across this issue after a temporary contract ends. UC should address these types of things as it adds to peoples stress unnecessarily and reduces the likelihood of people getting back into employment. It doesn’t make any common sense to me why UC close accounts so soon especially during a pandemic when a lot of jobs now are temporary contracts.

Spoonie_Turtle

UC accounts currently stay open for 6 months with no entitlement before they close, which has been the case throughout the pandemic. 

It is very inconvenient though that a new claim then makes any previous documents unavailable - they can be retrieved through a Subject Access Request but that usually takes time.  It could be worth doing for any future reference, but it wouldn't help you with this current deadline.

JaneSade7

Ok thank you for the information. I will do this for future reference as well as screen shots of my current journal to prevent a repeat of this in future. 

tomtom256

If the claim is still showing, drop into your local job centre, they should be able to bring up old statements and print them out for you.
If you left it over 6 months between claims, they may no longer show though.

JaneSade7

Thanks for your message. No they closed it after 6 months as I was on a temporary contract therefore everything gets wiped including your journal. 

Just wanted to ask if anyone could help and to highlight this issue to give others a heads up. I will take regular screen shots of my payments and breakdowns for future reference. Hopefully the people in charge will make adjustments to change this to only closing accounts once permanent positions of work are secured. 

theoretica

Any use https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-your-personal-information-from-the-department-for-work-and-pensions

tomtom256

JaneSade7 said:

Thanks for your message. No they closed it after 6 months as I was on a temporary contract therefore everything gets wiped including your journal. 

Just wanted to ask if anyone could help and to highlight this issue to give others a heads up. I will take regular screen shots of my payments and breakdowns for future reference. Hopefully the people in charge will make adjustments to change this to only closing accounts once permanent positions of work are secured. 

Is that what they told you or do you mean from your side when you login?
Work Coaches can often see old claims still, even though you can't.

JaneSade7

Yes they’ve told me they can’t send me a letter to confirm I was claiming during 2019-2021 as someone closed my account a month before my contract ended this year. They told me it doesn’t show up for either my side or theirs. 

JaneSade7

theoretica 

Thanks for this link. I have posted it to my journal to back up my request.