LRD guides and handbook April 2019

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

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 ...
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Chapter 1

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

What’s new? ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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) ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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