LRD guides and handbook April 2019

Universal Credit and other in-work benefits - a guide for union reps and workers

buy now

Introduction

Introduction [pages 5-9] (1,932 words)

Universal Credit and other in-work benefits is the latest edition of the Labour Research Department’s annual union reps’ guide to the benefits ...
Open access

Chapter 1

1. Universal Credit [ch 1: pages 10-11] (482 words)

What’s new? ...
Subscribers only

What is Universal Credit? [ch 1: page 11] (279 words)

Severe Disability Premium and Universal Credit [ch 1: page 12] (170 words)

How to claim Universal Credit [ch 1: page 12] (156 words)

How UC is paid [ch 1: page 12-13] (258 words)

How much is UC? [ch 1: pages 13-14] (450 words)

If you are employed – the taper rate and work allowances [ch 1: page 15] (197 words)

Work allowances [ch 1: page 15] (201 words)

Other support [ch 1: page 16] (198 words)

If you are self-employed [ch 1: pages 16-17] (507 words)

Will working people be better or worse off under UC? [ch 1: pages 17-18] (409 words)

Support for those with children [ch 1: page 18] (51 words)

Two-child rule [ch 1: pages 18-19] (395 words)

First child premium [ch 1: page 19] (51 words)

Parents and looking for work [ch 1: page 19] (107 words)

Universal Credit and free school meals [ch 1: pages 19-20] (232 words)

Childcare costs [ch 1: page 20] (195 words)

Transitional protection [ch 1: pages 20-21] (183 words)

Waiting for the first Universal Credit payment [ch 1: page 21] (212 words)

Advance payments [ch 1: page 21] (131 words)

Challenging the pay-day effect [ch 1: pages 22-23] (409 words)

The Claimant Commitment [ch 1: page 23] (238 words)

Universal Credit and health costs [ch 1: page 23] (89 words)

Universal Credit and EU nationals [ch 1: pages 23-24] (123 words)

Impact on disabled people [ch 1: page 24] (408 words)

Unite’s #STOPUniversalCredit campaign [ch 1: page 25] (261 words)

Chapter 2

2. The Benefit Cap [ch 2: page 26] (110 words)

The Benefit Cap imposes a limit on the total amount of benefits people aged 16 to 64 can get. It came into force in 2013 and was lowered from ...
Subscribers only

What are the Benefit Cap levels? [ch 2: page 26] (140 words)

When the Benefit Cap doesn’t apply [ch 2: pages 26-27] (238 words)

Impact of the Benefits Cap [ch 2: pages 27-28] (335 words)

Chapter 3

3. Working Tax Credit, Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance [ch 3: page 29] (132 words)

Universal Credit (UC) (see Chapter 1) has largely replaced previous benefits — primarily Working Tax Credit (WTC), Income Support (IS) and ...
Subscribers only

Working Tax Credit [ch 3: page 29] (55 words)

Income Support [ch 3: page 29] (59 words)

Jobseeker’s Allowance [ch 3: page 29] (83 words)

New-style JSA [ch 3: page 30] (131 words)

Who can get new-style JSA? [ch 3: page 30] (141 words)

How much can you get? [ch 3: page 30] (102 words)

Claimant Commitment and sanctions [ch 3: page 31] (305 words)

Health costs and school meals and uniform [ch 3: page 32] (93 words)

The Social Fund and Local Welfare Assistance [ch 3: page 32] (69 words)

Budgeting Loans [ch 3: pages 32-33] (257 words)

Cold Weather Payment [ch 3: page 33] (253 words)

Short term benefit advances [ch 3: page 33] (55 words)

Local welfare assistance [ch 3: pages 32-34] (337 words)

Chapter 4

4. Help for sick and disabled workers and those injured at work [ch 4: page 35] (355 words)

There are a number of benefits you may be able to claim if you are sick, injured at work, or disabled. What you get depends on whether you are in ...
Subscribers only

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) [ch 4: page 36] (60 words)

Who can get it? [ch 4: page 36] (175 words)

Exceptions [ch 4: page 36] (161 words)

How much can you get? [ch 4: pages 36-37] (91 words)

Qualifying days [ch 4: page 37] (47 words)

When to claim [ch 4: page 37] (189 words)

Notification rules for SSP [ch 4: page 37] (168 words)

How is it paid? [ch 4: page 38] (72 words)

If you are pregnant [ch 4: page 38] (74 words)

Independent medical examination [ch 4: page 38] (113 words)

How to appeal [ch 4: pages 38-39] (454 words)

Employment and Support Allowance [ch 4: page 39] (53 words)

Who is eligible? [ch 4: page 40] (195 words)

New-style ESA [ch 4: page 40] (107 words)

How does it work? [ch 4: pages 40-41] (400 words)

How much can you get? [ch 4: pages 41-42] (238 words)

Severe Disablement Allowance [ch 4: page 42] (33 words)

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit [ch 4: page 42] (66 words)

Who can get it? [ch 4: pages 42-43] (273 words)

How much can you get? [ch 4: page 43] (137 words)

How to appeal [ch 4: page 43] (65 words)

Constant Attendance Allowance [ch 4: page 43] (174 words)

Reduced Earnings Allowance and Retirement Allowance [ch 4: page 44] (151 words)

Disability Allowance and Personal Independence Payment [ch 4: page 44] (275 words)

How much can you get? [ch 4: page 45] (187 words)

New claims [ch 4: page 45] (156 words)

Chapter 5

5. Support for parents-to-be and parents [ch 5: page 46] (191 words)

Benefits available to help parents and guardians raise their children include: ...
Subscribers only

Exercising parental rights [ch 5: pages 46-47] (198 words)

Statutory Maternity Leave [ch 5: page 47] (293 words)

Returning to work [ch 5: page 48] (144 words)

Statutory Maternity Pay [ch 5: page 48] (119 words)

How much can you get? [ch 5: page 48] (160 words)

How is it paid? [ch 5: page 49] (92 words)

Maternity Allowance [ch 5: page 49] (314 words)

How to claim [ch 5: page 49] (57 words)

Sure Start Maternity Grant [ch 5: page 50] (273 words)

Scotland [ch 5: page 50] (35 words)

Shared Parental Leave and Pay [ch 5: pages 50-51] (284 words)

Eligibility [ch 5: pages 51-52] (472 words)

Shared Parental Leave rules [ch 5: page 52] (313 words)

Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave [ch 5: page 53] (425 words)

Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay and surrogacy [ch 5: pages 54-55] (510 words)

Child Benefit [ch 5: page 55] (295 words)

Guardian’s Allowance [ch 5: pages 55-56] (93 words)

Child Tax Credit [ch 5: page 56] (58 words)

Help with childcare costs under Universal Credit [ch 5: page 56] (156 words)

Free childcare for three and four-year olds [ch 5: pages 56-57] (342 words)

Tax-Free Childcare scheme [ch 5: page 57] (304 words)

Chapter 6

6. Pensions [ch 6: page 58] (177 words)

The right to claim certain benefits changes once you reach State Pension Age (SPA). For example, you cannot claim Disability Living Allowance (DLA) ...
Subscribers only

State Pension Age [ch 6: page 58] (242 words)

The new single-tier State Pension [ch 6: page 59] (140 words)

What you may get [ch 6: page 59] (243 words)

Deferring the new State Pension [ch 6: page 59] (67 words)

Qualifying for the new State Pension [ch 6: page 60] (140 words)

Old state pensions [ch 6: page 60] (94 words)

Basic State Pension [ch 6: page 60] (100 words)

Who can get it? [ch 6: pages 60-61] (159 words)

Married women, married men and civil partners [ch 6: page 61] (128 words)

How to claim [ch 6: page 61] (69 words)

Deferring the old State Pension [ch 6: page 61] (81 words)

Additional State Pension [ch 6: pages 61-62] (339 words)

Contracting out of Additional State Pension [ch 6: pages 62-63] (161 words)

State pension forecast [ch 6: page 63] (40 words)

Graduated pension [ch 6: page 63] (57 words)

Pension Credit [ch 6: page 63] (53 words)

Change for mixed-age couples [ch 6: pages 63-64] (349 words)

Elements of Pension Credit [ch 6: page 64] (115 words)

Entitlement to Pension Credit [ch 6: page 64] (227 words)

Winter Fuel Payment [ch 6: page 65] (127 words)

Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign [ch 6: page 65] (140 words)

Chapter 7

7. Help with housing costs [ch 7: pages 66-67] (551 words)

The Tory-led coalition government focused particularly on Housing Benefit (HB) as a means of cutting public spending. The HB bill has increased ...
Subscribers only

Housing Benefit [ch 7: pages 67-68] (300 words)

Changes to HB eligibility for mixed-age pensioner couples [ch 7: page 68] (193 words)

How much can you get? [ch 7: pages 68-69] (193 words)

Social rented sector claims — the ‘bedroom tax’ [ch 7: page 69] (276 words)

How is Housing Benefit paid? [ch 7: page 70] (63 words)

How much do you get? [ch 7: page 70] (209 words)

Help with a mortgage [ch 7: pages 70-71] (86 words)

Mortgage Interest Run On [ch 7: page 71] (107 words)

Supported housing funding [ch 7: page 71] (57 words)

Council Tax Support [ch 7: page 71] (144 words)

Chapter 8

8. Help if your husband, wife or civil partner dies [ch 8: page 72] (203 words)

From 6 April 2017, a new benefit, Bereavement Support Payment, replaced the previous suite of bereavement benefits (Bereavement Payment, Bereavement ...
Subscribers only

Bereavement Support Payment [ch 8: pages 72-74] (518 words)

Inheriting State Pension entitlement [ch 8: page 74] (345 words)

If you get divorced [ch 8: page 75] (69 words)

Funeral Payments [ch 8: page 75] (300 words)

Chapter 9

9. Calculating means-tested benefits [ch 9: pages 76-77] (458 words)

Income Support (IS), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Housing Benefit (HB) are means-tested ...
Subscribers only

Appealing against decisions [ch 9: page 78] (217 words)

Further information

Further help and information [pages 79-80] (594 words)

The state benefits system is run mainly by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), while HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) administers Tax Credits. ...
Subscribers only