Universal Credit claimants urged to check payments this Christmas

  • 8th December 2020

  • Customers

whg is running a campaign to inform customers of the potential impact on their Universal Credit (UC) payment for December.

whg is reminding customers that the festive season can cause payments to move around. Many employers may choose to process wages early in December. This is because of the high number of bank holidays in December and to ensure that staff are paid in time before Christmas.

If you are in some form of employment and claiming UC, and your employer pays you early in December due to the Christmas period you may receive a reduced UC payment or no payment until after the Christmas period.

This is because how often your employer pays you can affect your UC as you may be paid twice in one assessment period.

Service Manager Jaz Kaur said: “We know Christmas can be a challenging time for household finances, with all sorts of costs associated with the holiday season. If you see your UC award reduce or receive no payment at all make sure you call UC straight away as they can help realign your payment to your ‘normal’ pay date and make any payment corrections to you straight away.”

To find out if this rule will apply to you, contact the Department for Work and Pensions via your online journal.

It’s also worth checking with your employer if they will be paying you earlier in December.

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