Cost of Living Payment Denied

tifo

janethomas70 said:

it sometimes seems that what you get in one hand the government takes from the other

How you choose to work has nothing to do with the govt. But your general point is correct, if you earn more you lose somewhere, whether in benefits or tax or other costs.

calcotti

tifo said:

janethomas70 said:

it sometimes seems that what you get in one hand the government takes from the other

How you choose to work has nothing to do with the govt. But your general point is correct, if you earn more you lose somewhere, whether in benefits or tax or other costs.

But if they never took anything there would be nothing to give back. Tax is what we pay if we want to have public services (leaving aside the political backdrop)

themoomins

It's shocking that you will miss out on over £300 due to doing a bit of 'overtime'.  When people say 'work doesn't pay' when on benefits this is what they mean. UC was supposed to make work pay but by trying to earn more you end up at a significant disadvantage.  It should be the case that if you have an open claim and regularly get payments but occasionally earn over that you qualify for the payment.  I totally get your resentment. People with open UC claims are the lowest earners in the country and the closest to poverty so to penalise on technicalities is a disgrace.

NedS

themoomins said:

It's shocking that you will miss out on over £300 due to doing a bit of 'overtime'.  When people say 'work doesn't pay' when on benefits this is what they mean. UC was supposed to make work pay but by trying to earn more you end up at a significant disadvantage.  It should be the case that if you have an open claim and regularly get payments but occasionally earn over that you qualify for the payment.  I totally get your resentment. People with open UC claims are the lowest earners in the country and the closest to poverty so to penalise on technicalities is a disgrace.

The CoL payment has nothing to do with UC. CoL payment aside, they were better off working and earning that extra amount thanks to the way UC works. No one could have foreseen the circumstances that subsequently unfolded. You may as well blame your neighbour for not having told you, or the bloke down the pub.