Department for Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 5 September 2016.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average loss incurred by people in receipt of universal credit in regular employment and paid monthly whose pay date fluctuates with their universal credit assessment period resulting in two sets of earnings in one assessment period and no earnings in the following assessment period, compared with claimants whose pay date does not fluctuate with their assessment period resulting in one set of earnings in each assessment period since the roll-out of the digital service.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his estimate is of the number of people in receipt of universal credit in regular employment and paid monthly whose pay date will fluctuate with their universal credit assessment period resulting in two sets of earnings in one assessment period and no earnings in the following assessment period since the roll-out of the digital service.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in receipt of Universal Credit who are in regular employment and paid every four weeks and receive two sets of earnings in one assessment period since the roll-out of the digital service.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average loss incurred by people in receipt of Universal Credit who are in regular employment and paid every four weeks and receive two sets of earnings in one assessment period compared with claimants with the same annual income who are paid monthly with one set of earnings in each assessment period since the roll-out of the digital service.
The specific information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Unlike tax credits which meant that claimants received demands for repayments and could never be sure they were receiving the correct entitlement, Universal Credit assesses monthly earnings and income in that month. That lessens the burden on claimants who have fluctuating incomes or irregular payments so they can budget with greater confidence and without the anxiety they will be hit with a demand for repayment.
We are currently implementing a test and learn approach to understand the interaction of Universal Credit and employer pay cycles and its effect on awards. This work will include discussions with employers.
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No1 person thinks not
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