THREAD on why the @cpaguk #universalcredit case this week is important for thousands of low paid workers (1/6)
High Court found that the way the Govt calculated earnings to apply the benefit cap for a single mother who was paid 4-weekly was “irrational and unlawful”. The Govts refusal to acknowledge 4-weekly pay in calculating UC payments causes stress and hardship for many workers. (2/6)
UC is calculated monthly. When you’re 4 weekly paid you might have 2 payments in one monthly assessment period. If that takes you over the earnings limit for UC then you may have your payment reduced the next month, or even receive nothing at all. (3/6)
Losing out on a month’s payment when you’re on a limited income makes an already tough situation even worse. And if you don’t contact the DWP to tell them what’s happened then they might stop paying UC completely. (4/6)
This is another example of how Universal Credit simply hasn’t been designed with claimants’ needs in mind, or any understanding of low paid workers’ lives. 67% of our members are paid 4-weekly and the system does not recognise this. (5/6)
This judgment is an important step forward. Time now to replace Universal Credit with a proper social security system that’s built around claimants’ needs – with an end to the 5 week wait, 2 child limit, and punitive sanctions regime. (6/6)
