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DWP UC first claim falsely declared salary I didn't get

Hi all,
Back in October 2024, I made a first claim for UC. Weeks later when I was told through my journal that my first payment was reduced due to an amount of money that i apparently received from my last employer (working connection with DWP). I left my last employment mid September and my last wage slip showed an amount of SSP and holiday pay, totalling net zero, because obviously I left the job and was not entitled to it, but it showed on the payslip the deductions amounting to net zero that I received. Not being used to DWP claims, I raised the issue and provided evidence - my p45, my bank statements, my last payslip, contact with HR at my previous employment regarding the issue and i contacted HMRC. All of them did not know what I was talking about. HMRC said that DWP have access to the same live information as them so they do not know why DWP are questioning it as it shows my last amount of SSP and Holiday pay. I raised an RTI with DWP, which took weeks and came back 'undetermined'. I asked why and they said HMRC were in the process of contacting HR at my last employer about this. To which I contacted them and HMRC again and neither knew anything about this. HMRC said there is nothing on your account we would need to question. I raised a mandatory consideration with DWP on Dec 12th 2024 and still waiting to hear back. I dont want to but do feel that because my last employment work in connection with DWP and that the reason why I had to leave that job was to save my mental health due to insufficient IT and support systems, i feel people have been communicating with each other? I have never had to leave a job in my life and it affected me alot, If anyone can come up with a more logic answer, I'll hold my hands up, but I just feel there is something not quite right here as it does not make sense. I have contacted DWP and told them I have been in contact with HMRC and my last employer, but still get told to wait for a mandatory consideration result!
Kind regards
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Comments

  • kaMelo
    kaMelo Posts: 2,734 Forumite
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    edited 4 February at 10:23AM
    I don't understand what you mean by"net zero" any SSP and holiday pay would not be entered unless you qualified for it, they don't add it as a matter of course and then deduct it if you don't qualify for it.

    The figures used by UC are what you actually got paid and when, are you saying DWP are using an earnings figure higher than the pay you received in that assessment period?
  • peteuk
    peteuk Posts: 1,807 Forumite
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    Would it not be the case that DWP take the amount after tax and NI, and before any other deductions. So if after tax/ni there was £300 but they then further reductions eg holiday pay you owe them, which zero’d your pay slip.

    DWP would see it as £300.  
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  • TheShape
    TheShape Posts: 1,842 Forumite
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    peteuk said:
    Would it not be the case that DWP take the amount after tax and NI, and before any other deductions. So if after tax/ni there was £300 but they then further reductions eg holiday pay you owe them, which zero’d your pay slip.

    DWP would see it as £300.  
    It would seem logical to me that if you were due, for example, £300 for hours worked but you'd taken excess holiday that amounted to £300 that was to be deducted, you'd be due £0 and your payslip and earnings reported to HMRC would reflect that.
  • kaMelo
    kaMelo Posts: 2,734 Forumite
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    peteuk said:
    Would it not be the case that DWP take the amount after tax and NI, and before any other deductions. So if after tax/ni there was £300 but they then further reductions eg holiday pay you owe them, which zero’d your pay slip.

    DWP would see it as £300.  

    If that's the case, and by using the phrase 'net zero' it could well be what the OP meant, I'd tend to think like @TheShape.   

    Holiday pay and SSP are taxable so any reduction for overpayment would be done prior to calculating tax/NI. If that zeroed their gross earnings then that is what the RTI report should show and what UC should use for any calculation.
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 20,914 Forumite
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    This is confusing.

    It seems odd that your overpayment of SSP and excess holidays exactly matched your income for your pay period up to leaving.

    You left work mid September. 

    Were you paid monthly  up to the end of each month so were due two? Weeks SSP up to date of leaving?

    When/ how did an overpayment if SSP happen? 



  • Hi all, thanks for your responses.
    Its very confusing for me too. This has been going on for 6 months.
    Just to clarify. I was paid monthly at the end of each month. I left mid September 2024. I received my paycheck for September's work as i was signed off sick for the last week. My last payslip, after that, received mid  October, following me resigning on the 1st october, said final  payslip - SSP and Holiday entitlement totalling £524. deductions - £524. = 0. My bank statement shows my last salary for September and nothing after that from that company. There was no overpayment. Nothing more after my September pay was given to me. HMRC clarified this for me. They said they can see this and dont understand why DWP cant. I have showed DWP all this evidence. At present, I am still waiting for the outcome of my mandatory reconsideration as the RTI I raised came back 'undetermined'. I have been communicating with DWP about this through my UC journal and theyve just said "we'll pass this onto the payments team"!
    The reason I think there is something suspicious is because mid November, I started working for an agency, got paid weekly and there were no issues with declared wages with them?
  • kaMelo said:
    I don't understand what you mean by"net zero" any SSP and holiday pay would not be entered unless you qualified for it, they don't add it as a matter of course and then deduct it if you don't qualify for it.

    The figures used by UC are what you actually got paid and when, are you saying DWP are using an earnings figure higher than the pay you received in that assessment period?
    I understand the figures DWP uses, but my assessment period they were using their calculations for in my first payment (Nov 24) was from 7th Oct to 8th November. My last employment wages was received at the end of September. Then I received  a payslip from that employer showing the ssp and holiday pay with deductions equaling to zero amount
  • kaMelo
    kaMelo Posts: 2,734 Forumite
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    It would be impossible for tax and NI deductions to zero your pay, if anything you might have got a small tax rebate.

    What type of deductions were there,
     what were they called?
  • I did not say they were tax and NI deductions. It was just ssp and holiday pay I would have been entitled to, but because I left the job, they put it on my last payslip to declare it but as amounting to zero amount received by me
  • They still have to declare anything i would of been entitled to apparently. HMRC says they declared it a month after my final wages, but they said it also shows i received nothing after they made them deductions
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