Universal Credit

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This really is not about “… work done and not paid in the context of a global pandemic and a complete shut down by the government of the performing arts sector”

This is about income received after making a claim for UC… end of story

There are millions of different 'circumstances' people find themselves in, the UC system cannot change to take them all into account as they arise

He applied, was assessed and awarded a UC of x amount based on the info he gave about his financial & personal position. Now he will get some money that may/will temporarily reduce the UC, then UC will change again when its ‘spent’

Through poor self management, bad luck or some other circumstance, he did not get one or more invoices paid in a timely manner and that’s a shame it really is, but it does not necessitate a review or restructure of the benefit system, sorry if that’s not the support you want for his predicament but cant you see that if they do this one little thing for him, then when someone else has an equally/more deserving case tomorrow then they must do for them too and the next day and the next?

All I am saying is that the UC system was designed for normal circumstances and economic conditions - neither of which applies to the current situation.

As it happens, as he looks for a way ahead I will not let my lad suffer in misery as a result of a combination of events and circumstances over which he had absolutely no part in or influence. If it comes to it I will compensate him for the earnings or UC he loses as a result of those earnings... But he is very fortunate - many in his circumstances will not be so.

And so those who look at the situation my son is in and comment on all the things that he could have done - or that he has to put up with and do moving forward - to all of those I say forget that perspective and look at the circumstances of the much less fortunate in the same or similar situation - and then shrug.

 

[Slab]

All I am saying is that the UC system was designed for normal circumstances and economic conditions - neither of which applies to the current situation.

As it happens, as he looks for a way ahead I will not let my lad suffer in misery as a result of a combination of events and circumstances over which he had absolutely no part in or influence. If it comes to it I will compensate him for the earnings or UC he loses as a result of those earnings... But he is very fortunate - many in his circumstances will not be so.

And so those who look at the situation my son is in and comment on all the things that he could have done - or that he has to put up with and do moving forward - to all of those I say forget that perspective and look at the circumstances of the much less fortunate in the same or similar situation - and then shrug.

And that's the crux of it. The folks on forums (and almost all online communities & media) generally only care when the situation is on the doorstep

 

[GB72]

All I am saying is that the UC system was designed for normal circumstances and economic conditions - neither of which applies to the current situation.

As it happens, as he looks for a way ahead I will not let my lad suffer in misery as a result of a combination of events and circumstances over which he had absolutely no part in or influence. If it comes to it I will compensate him for the earnings or UC he loses as a result of those earnings... But he is very fortunate - many in his circumstances will not be so.

And so those who look at the situation my son is in and comment on all the things that he could have done - or that he has to put up with and do moving forward - to all of those I say forget that perspective and look at the circumstances of the much less fortunate in the same or similar situation - and then shrug.

The thing is, whilst the causation in this case is unique, the results are not. I have worked all my life in property and I have seen the housing market collapse on a number of occasions causing widespread redundancies and large parts of the industry effectively close for what is more than a few months. That has not resulted in any specialist measures being put in place or extra funding. I guess you can look all over the place, mining, ship building, steel, construction etc, all of these have seen massive downturns and closures and the most that any government can do is offer careers advice and basis funding.

Maybe the universal credit system is not perfect but what I am saying is that your son is not the first, nor will be the last, to see their chosen area of work hit hard times or even disappear almost over night. To believe that is a slightly myopic view.

 

[SocketRocket]

All I am saying is that the UC system was designed for normal circumstances and economic conditions - neither of which applies to the current situation.

As it happens, as he looks for a way ahead I will not let my lad suffer in misery as a result of a combination of events and circumstances over which he had absolutely no part in or influence. If it comes to it I will compensate him for the earnings or UC he loses as a result of those earnings... But he is very fortunate - many in his circumstances will not be so.

And so those who look at the situation my son is in and comment on all the things that he could have done - or that he has to put up with and do moving forward - to all of those I say forget that perspective and look at the circumstances of the much less fortunate in the same or similar situation - and then shrug.

You are of course concerned about your Son and will do what you can to help him through, that's admirable and shows you as being a good and caring parent.

The issue is that if you post his story on a public media site like this others are not emotionally attached so will view his situation at arms length and will tend to give an unemotional response which is what you should expect to happen.

This seems to be a reoccuring situation where you share his latest trials and tribulations and then dont like many of the opinions given. I suggest you dont do this anymore as it always ends up the same way where you take offence from it.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

You are of course concerned about your Son and will do what you can to help him through, that's admirable and shows you as being a good and caring parent.

The issue is that if you post his story on a public media site like this others are not emotionally attached so will view his situation at arms length and will tend to give an unemotional response which is what you should expect to happen.

This seems to be a reoccuring situation where you share his latest trials and tribulations and then dont like many of the opinions given. I suggest you dont do this anymore as it always ends up the same way where you take offence from it.

I take no offence to any of the posts. However some posts lead me to wonder about what 'we are all in this together...' means when the circumstances of the pandemic and the government's lockdown measures will impact many so very severely.

 

[ColchesterFC]

Not quite so easy in Sheffield...but no - he didn’t - he thought that things would be getting back to normal by May...remember that? And he was chasing money he was owed that would see him through.

With regard to the bit in bold.....Why? Pretty much all of the supermarkets were recruiting for store staff and drivers and Sheffield was no different to any other part of the country. In fact Aldi are still advertising for store assistants in Sheffield, paying between £9-40 and £10-41 per hour. If your son and his girlfriend only worked 25 hours a week each, at £10 and hour that's £500 a week, which even after tax etc would still be more than they are getting through UC.

 

[Slab]

I take no offence to any of the posts. However some posts lead me to wonder about what 'we are all in this together...' means when the circumstances of the pandemic and the government's lockdown measures will impact many so very severely.

Enough now, you seriously can’t trot out this ‘all in it together’ nonsense, SILH didn’t care & Slab didn’t care. Your online persona didn’t give a rats bahookie about this pandemic until 9th March. Thousands dead by then, tens of thousands infected and not a peep from any one of us

 

[GB72]

I take no offence to any of the posts. However some posts lead me to wonder about what 'we are all in this together...' means when the circumstances of the pandemic and the government's lockdown measures will impact many so very severely.

I don't think that any of the comments are meant in a mean spirited way, I guess I, as well as others are realists and look at things a different way and, as mentioned above, have no emotional attachment to the situation. My wife has not worked for over 4 months as construction has been largely shut down, does that entitle her to special provisions as other people could still work. She too was a contractor and so had no furlough or other pay save for a total of £500 a month from the government.

The way I see it, and i guess this makes me harsh, uncaring and various other things, but it is pretty obvious that nightclubs and similar indoor entertainment are, at best, shut until Xmas but that could easily stretch into next year. Universal Credit is seen as a short term solution. It is with this in mind that, if the roles were reversed (and I have been in similar positions in the past), I would be taking any job (or even more than one job) to get me through the next 6-12 months then see if I can pick up my career further down the line when my chosen profession starts to recover. The reality is that his desired career has gone for the foreseeable future and universal credit or any other scheme will not keep him going until it comes back and nor was it ever intended to.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I am pretty cool about this. I just think it a little unfair that one individual can have up to £6k in savings on the day he registers for UC and that £6k does not impact his claim whatsoever - when another - let's say with little or no savings, has some income delayed and it lands a day or a few days after he registers and that income, however little that might be, does impact his claim.

As a result the person with savings gets the full UC he is due; the person with no savings gets reduced level of UC - and so clearly the person with savings is better positioned to cope with life on UC.

Guess that's how the system has been designed.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I am pretty cool about this. I just think it a little unfair that one individual can have up to £6k in savings on the day he registers for UC and that £6k does not impact his claim whatsoever - when another - let's say with little or no savings, has some income delayed and it lands a day or a few days after he registers and that income, however little that might be, does impact his claim.

As a result the person with savings gets the full UC he is due; the person with no savings gets reduced level of UC - and so clearly the person with savings is better positioned to cope with life on UC.

Guess that's how the system has been designed.

If when he registered he had NO SAVINGS surely anything coming whilst he is on UC is Income, tell him to open a savings account and put £25.00 a month or similar in to it, he is allowed to try and save, what NOBODY can do is receive a lump sum and try to state it’s all savings, that would be fraudulent.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If when he registered he had NO SAVINGS surely anything coming whilst he is on UC is Income, tell him to open a savings account and put £25.00 a month or similar in to it, he is allowed to try and save, what NOBODY can do is receive a lump sum and try to state it’s all savings, that would be fraudulent.

Yes - save if possible - easier said than done when your income is just sufficient to scrape along on. The £1000 income he was due in March was to be what he would use to paid off the debt he has incurred since then as a result of the income being delayed. Now he has the debt to service.

More likely - and as suggested by another poster - he'll ask the company that owes him the money to delay paying him it until he has a job and has come off UC.

 

[DanFST]

Yes - save if possible - easier said than done when your income is just sufficient to scrape along on. The £1000 income he was due in March was to be what he would use to paid off the debt he has incurred since then as a result of the income being delayed. Now he has the debt to service.

More likely - and as suggested by another poster - he'll ask the company that owes him the money to delay paying him it until he has a job and has come off UC.

Most creditors were offering payment holidays for this exact situation, I know we still are.

I'm going to assume he didn't call up and ask?

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Yes - save if possible - easier said than done when your income is just sufficient to scrape along on. The £1000 income he was due in March was to be what he would use to paid off the debt he has incurred since then as a result of the income being delayed. Now he has the debt to service.

More likely - and as suggested by another poster - he'll ask the company that owes him the money to delay paying him it until he has a job and has come off UC.

It’s nigh on impossible to save when he is as badly off as you say, but I’d rather try and save, even £1.00 per week, than risk benefit fraud.

 

[GB72]

Yes - save if possible - easier said than done when your income is just sufficient to scrape along on. The £1000 income he was due in March was to be what he would use to paid off the debt he has incurred since then as a result of the income being delayed. Now he has the debt to service.

More likely - and as suggested by another poster - he'll ask the company that owes him the money to delay paying him it until he has a job and has come off UC.

Was the debt declared as part of the application for universal credit. If so, it may have been taken into account as part of the initial calculation.

 

[marksman]

Sounds easy doesn’t it ? Have you done any research into the cost of advertising the service ? I would be fascinated to watch a new recruit coming straight from a locksmith course and having to open a 3 star rated anit - drill , anti- snap , anti-pick , anti- bump Cylinder ! Could be very embarrassing and a very costly mistake . I’ve seen many new recruits into the trade over the last couple of decades and very, very few survive the first 9 months . I’m not saying it’s impossible , but after start up costs and entering an already saturated market , the likelihood is that you will lose money .

 

[marksman]

This was a reply to a post by Jamesbrown . about a locksmith course . Sorry missed the reply feature .

 

[chellie]

Most creditors were offering payment holidays for this exact situation, I know we still are.

I'm going to assume he didn't call up and ask?

Isn't there hep with council tax as well or is that paid for him?

Oh, and Tesco need staff and Lidl.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Most creditors were offering payment holidays for this exact situation, I know we still are.

I'm going to assume he didn't call up and ask?

He still has debt accumulated to be paid off. And yes - he knows how to manage debt...

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Was the debt declared as part of the application for universal credit. If so, it may have been taken into account as part of the initial calculation.

No - because when he registered for UC he did not have the debt. The debt built up as he waited to be paid what he was owed on the assumption that he'd get paid and then be able to clear the debt.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Isn't there hep with council tax as well or is that paid for him?

Oh, and Tesco need staff and Lidl.

Council Tax is dealt with separately from UC as it is nothing to do with the DWP. The council give a large reduction - but not all is waived - you have to pay the balance out of your UC.

Tesco and Lidl - yes - OK. But available work is not really the point of my UC question.