Why do Universal Credit want me and my partner to confirm previous earnings from work?

Beachcomber372

Hi, We are transitioning from tax credits and have been claiming Universal Credit for about 10 months. UC have just asked us to confirm our previous earnings from work for the 4 months BEFORE we claimed UC. I was just wondering why they want this information as we were on Tax Credits then and have already declared our income for that period to tax credits. 🤔 We asked about this in the journal but they never replied. 😒

Rubyroobs

It may be to see whether you are exempt form the benefits cap. 

huckster

It is only to see if previous earnings qualify you from exemption from benefits cap for a period. 

Newcad

They ask everyone about previous earnings, it's built into the claims process - even those migrating from IR ESA who may not have worked for years still get asked to declare their earnings from recent employent when migrating/making a claim for UC.

TimeLord1

Newcad said:

They ask everyone about previous earnings, it's built into the claims process - even those migrating from IR ESA who may not have worked for years still get asked to declare their earnings from recent employent when migrating/making a claim for UC.

Funny @Newcad I see someone asking if they put their ESA as earnings and I remembered you  saying about the zero pounds and zero pence £0.00 it confuses a lot of people when that is all they're living off 

Newcad

It certainly surprised me when migrating myself to UC to be asked to declare recent earnings from employment when I had been on IR ESA for the previous 10 years.

But there again, even when on ESA  doing any Permitted Work might have been giving some earnings from employment.

TimeLord1

Newcad said:

It certainly surprised me when migrating myself to UC to be asked to declare recent earnings from employment when I had been on IR ESA for the previous 10 years.

But there again, even when on ESA  doing any Permitted Work might have been giving some earnings from employment.

Yes I guess so but volunteering or being helpful probably isn't going to earn any income. I remember people getting into bother doing surveys for money and didn't think it as income just a side hustle.  It was a website I don't believe it's around nowadays.

Newcad

Oh yes, there are various 'money for survey' websites still around, as well as the voucher ones.
Questions do pop up here about whether the "rewards" from them should be declared to the DWP.
It's a payment/reward for doing a task. that's earned income so it should be declared.

If it's a regular thing, and some people can make quite a bit of money doing paid-for surveys, then you do need to declare it - or face a fraud investigation if/when the DWP find out.

However I'll admit that I've done one or two Gov_UK  and NHS ones, by invitation, and got small Amazon gift card amounts in return which I never bothered declaring to the DWP.

marcia_

Newcad said:

Oh yes, there are various 'money for survey' websites still around, as well as the voucher ones.
Questions do pop up here about whether the "rewards" from them should be declared to the DWP.
It's a payment/reward for doing a task. that's earned income so it should be declared.

If it's a regular thing, and some people can make quite a bit of money doing paid-for surveys, then you do need to declare it - or face a fraud investigation if/when the DWP find out.

However I'll admit that I've done one or two Gov_UK  and NHS ones, by invitation, and got small Amazon gift card amounts in return which I never bothered declaring to the DWP.

 I did monthly tests and surveys for the NHS right through and after covid for amaxon vouchers. Never occurred to me to declare it! 

Newcad

The way I look at it is that if you are LCW/LCWRA then you have a UC work allowance.

So as long as you are not making hundreds a month from doing survey work, or anything else 'earned income', then your WA should cover it, (declared or not).

If you don't have a Work Allowance than it's a different matter of course and any earned income should be counted.

HillStreetBlues

That has me wondering Is a Amazon gift card capital or earnings under UC? as Amazon will have the money and they then supply a voucher (the gift card) to be redeemed against the product they sell.