Universal Credit Change for Working Poor Starts Soon - And It's Got Experts Worried

If you earn a different amount each month a little-known change to the way Universal Credit is calculated could soon hit you in the pocket.

Self-employed, part time, zero-hour and 'gig economy' workers are being warned about a new rule from this April which experts have said could be problematic for many people.

Workers may find themselves in a situation soon where they have to reapply to claim payments - even though they won't qualify because of 'surplus earnings'.

The government, on the other hand, insists it's keeping a close eye on the policy - and says it isn't too different to what existed before.

So what exactly is happening, and why are the experts concerned? 

What is this about and am I affected?

A pretty obscure rule is changing in Universal Credit (UC), the six-benefits-in-one payment that is being rolled out slowly across the country.

Lots of people who claim UC have a job, but their salary is low enough to be on benefits. At the moment that's 240,000 people out of 700,000 (the number rises every month).

But if you're self-employed, part time, zero-hour or a 'gig economy' worker, your earnings change from one month to the next.

That's a problem - because it means in a good month, you might earn too much to claim Universal Credit, and be kicked off it.

Earnings over this threshold are called surplus earnings.

What's happening?

In a bid to make things fairer, the government is changing how it deals with surplus earnings.

When you reapply for UC, you'll now have any surplus earnings you've racked up in the previous 6 months taken into account.

We asked one welfare expert how this actually works, and very roughly speaking, they put it to us like this.

Say you have a bumper month in May and earn £3,000 over the threshold. But then in June you're £300 under it. You still won't get UC.

That's because when you put the two months together, you're still over the threshold by £2,700.

What has happened, however, is £300 of your surplus pot has been 'erased' - and that'll keep happening as the months tick by.

So if you have a really bad month in July, and you're £2,800 under the threshold, you'll start being able to claim benefits again because you've dipped £100 under the threshold.

(These numbers are all made-up to make the policy easy to explain).

Why is it controversial?

It might all look pretty sensible. But the SSAC - whose job is to spot problems in new welfare laws - has raised three big problems.

Number one: to chip away at a surplus, some people will have to put in a claim every month for UC - knowing full well they won't get it.

That's for the situation we just explained above. So it's if you have one really good month, suddenly have a surplus, and have to chip away at it.

Number two: other people, seasonal workers for example, could actually be better off if they DON'T reapply every month.

Say you have a summer job with a big payoff in June, July and August, but terrible pay the rest of the year.

You could come off UC in June, not bother reapplying in July and August, and then when you re-claim in September, you won't have too many surplus earnings to take into account.

Number three, and this is the biggest one. The SSAC says this whole policy is just way too complicated.

How are people supposed to know if they're in group one - who must claim every month - or group two, who are better off the opposite way round?

There's going to be a safety net - for a while

This policy is coming with a big security blanket.

In the first year, from April 2018 to March 2019, there will be a 'de minimis' of £2,500 on the policy.

This means that if your surplus is £2,500 or less, it'll essentially be ignored to save on admin nightmares.

That's a high figure, so the government estimates the policy will only be triggered 11,000 times in its first year.

But fast-forward to April 2019 - and that 'de minimis' is being slashed to £300. So anyone with a surplus of £300 or more will be drawn into the policy.

What have the experts said?

Paul Gray, the chairman of the SSAC, wrote to ministers: "One of our main concerns about these proposals is the assumption that claimants will have a detailed understanding of this complex policy.

"In reality, it seems likely most will not.

"Many may be disadvantaged simply due to that lack of detailed understanding of the complex rules."

He added: "Requiring claims to be made where it is known that they will be unsuccessful is, at best, counterintuitive and risks damaging the credibility of both this policy and Universal Credit more widely."

People working long hours won't have time for constant failed claims, he said. So some are likely not to bother doing so, only to find they're penalised later down the line.

He added: "We are not convinced that this proposal can be satisfactorily implemented in a way that is clear and fair to claimants.

"If it does go ahead, it is essential that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) communicates the necessary messages implicit in this policy initiative effectively to claimants."

This is, he added, "a task that would not be easily achieved."

And what's the government's response?

The DWP has responded to the watchdog's concerns.

It insists the UC claim process is "designed as a simple and swift process for claimants" - and re-claims could take as little as eight minutes.

"The need for affected claimants to re-claim each month does not differ significantly from the current situation," the DWP insisted.

And it promised clear "messaging and guidance" to ensure "the claimant’s responsibilities are clear and they are kept well-informed."

Lastly, the government has promised it will keep the change in the cushion from £2,500 to a £300 after a year (see above) under review.

So if there are "significant or unexpected issues" with the policy, Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey will be able to step in and stop it going into full throttle.