Redundancy payment 2 September 2022 at 8:50AM in Benefits & tax credits 5 replies 223 views

JamesFromSomewhere

I phoned up the UC helpline but they didn't help me with this they told me they weren't sure. Useless!

Does my redundancy payment affect my universal credits? Thank you.

sammyjammy

Yes it will impact your payment in the claim period it is received

My apologies, Poppy12345 corrected me that it will be classed as capital/savings

JamesFromSomewhere

sammyjammy said:

Yes it will impact your payment in the claim period it is received

Thank you. So it's only that payment it affects and not any future payments? It means I'll see a little bit of it, perhaps half if I'm lucky.

A bit shocking really that the bloke on the phone didn't know after he put me on hold.

poppy12345

sammyjammy said:

Yes it will impact your payment in the claim period it is received

The redundancy pay will be classed as savings, not earnings. If this bring the total savings to more than £16,000 then entitlemet to all means tested benefits will end.

Pay in lieu and holiday pay will be classed as earnings.

JamesFromSomewhere said:

A bit shocking really that the bloke on the phone didn't know after he put me on hold.

Not at all. They are call centre staff, not benefits advisors. They should be the last people to ask for advice from.

JamesFromSomewhere

poppy12345 said:

sammyjammy said:

Yes it will impact your payment in the claim period it is received

The redundancy pay will be classed as savings, not earnings. If this bring the total savings to more than £16,000 then entitlemet to all means tested benefits will end.

Pay in lieu and holiday pay will be classed as earnings.

The redundancy will be £3800 and my savings is only £500 so under any caps. Thank you.

JamesFromSomewhere said:

A bit shocking really that the bloke on the phone didn't know after he put me on hold.

Not at all. They are call centre staff, not benefits advisors. They should be the last people to ask for advice from.

Oh ok. I was told in my identity check appointment for UC that the helpline would help with any queries I had so I assumed they could advise on stuff like this. I hadn't realised they had not been trained in this area. Cheers.

Alice_Holt

Oh ok. I was told in my identity check appointment for UC that the helpline would help with any queries I had so I assumed they could advise on stuff like this. I hadn't realised they had not been trained in this area. Cheers.

      This confirms poppy's advice:
       https://ucnotes.co.uk/universal-credit-home-page/im-working-menu/what-if-i-finish-work/

     I would start with an internet search rather than asking the UC call-handlers.
 Your local advice charity can be a useful source of information, and offer a potential check on the veracity of poorly trained DWP staff statements.