Thousands of Universal Credit claimants are still losing out on vital support each month due to a double payments trap that the DWP was made aware last year.
It’s linked to how often people are paid – and means if you get paid twice in the same month due to a date change or bank holiday, your benefits in the following month could be reduced to nil.
The DWP was ordered to fix this flaw by the Court of Appeal last October.
The department said 85,000 people who get paid monthly would not be unfairly penalised after the practice was deemed “irrational and unfair”.
It said in cases where a person gets paid twice in a month, it would manually move one of the pay cheques over into a different assessment period to ensure the household isn’t unfairly penalised.
Are you affected by this flaw? Tell us your story: emma.munbodh@mirror.co.uk
However, thousands of employees are still falling into the trap.
In some cases, it’s because the error, which the DWP said it fixed last November still hasn’t been rectified. In others, it’s because the claimant gets paid weekly, fortnightly or every four weeks, which bizarrely isn’t covered by the fix.
In February, The Mirror spoke to Matt and Sasha Smith who were left with no Universal Credit due to the ongoing flaw.
Vehicle technician, Matt, 43, had been paid early on top of his usual salary in December due to the festive holiday. The DWP’s computers registered this as a double payment in four weeks.
In January, he logged on to his online portal, only to discover he no longer qualified for Universal Credit.
The dad-of-four was told to go to his local foodbank after telling the DWP he cannot afford to live.
Adam, 33, and his partner Tracey told The Sun they had their entire benefit payment scrapped in February.
Adam, who gets paid every four weeks, said he usually gets between £350 and £700 in Universal Credit support.
However the clash in payments meant he qualified for nothing.
“It’s awful,” Adam told the publisher. “I’m fortunate enough that I can go to my family for help, but I shouldn’t have to do that.”
The dad was forced to borrow £550 from family members.
“We couldn’t afford to do a grocery shop so my sister brought a food parcel but they shouldn’t have to do that.”
It’s the second time Adam has been affected by the issue. Speaking to The Sun, he said the first time it happened was in March 2020 when he had to visit a food bank.
Universal Credit payments are paid a month in arrears. They're based on the earnings you received in the last month - known as your 'assessment period'.
The DWP uses this period to calculate how much you should be paid the following month.
In October last year, the issue was taken to the Court of Appeal.
Four single mums told judges they had fallen into rent arrears, defaulted on council tax, incurred bank overdraft charges, borrowed money and even become reliant on foodbanks to make ends meet because of the issue.
The judge concluded that the "irrational and unfair" system pushed them into poverty.
It ordered the DWP to fix the error - and it agreed, stating that from November 16, 2020, claimants who got paid twice in a month by their employer would not be penalised.
It said that the benefits system would instead be based on real time information from employers – meaning only one payment would be registered in any assessment period.
However it said the fix would apply to all those who get paid monthly – for those who get paid in smaller instalments, the fight continues.
The DWP insists its systems are fair.
It sad those that are paid by their employer every four weeks are paid more frequently than those who are paid monthly and Universal Credit is designed to reflect this.
A DWP spokesperson said: “Universal Credit is designed to reflect the world of work as closely as possible, and most workers continue to be paid monthly, meaning that Universal Credit replicates this.
“Monthly assessment periods also allow Universal Credit to be adjusted each month. This means that if a claimant’s income falls, which leads to a rise in their Universal Credit payment, they will not have to wait several months to receive it.”
