Waiting for the first Universal Credit payment


A major change is that UC is paid monthly (in arrears), and all benefit payments are made directly to individuals. There is a requirement for claimants to have a bank account or equivalent. There is a standard five-week wait for the first payment under UC: one-month assessment period and up to seven days for the payment to reach your account.


After a sustained campaign of pressure from unions and others to “pause and fix” UC (see page 12), the government announced in the Autumn budget that it would remove the seven-day waiting period for UC from February 2018, so that the claim starts from the date of application. Although this shortens the wait for the first payment from six to five weeks, if it is paid on time, unions say it will do little to alleviate the pressure on household incomes. The TUC describes it as “a huge wait for support when you most need it”.


Research by the charity Citizens Advice released in July 2017, found that over a third (39%) of people turning to it for help with UC were waiting more than the six weeks it should have taken to receive their first payment, with just over one in nine (11%) waiting over 10 weeks.


Over half (57%) said they had to borrow money while waiting for their first payment and while a quarter (27%) were able to get an Advance Payment to help tide them over, two in five (40%) said they were not aware that this help was available.


Between 1 April and 30 September 2017, the Trussell Trust’s foodbank network distributed 586,907 three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis, this compares to 519,342 during the same period a year before — a 13% increase. 


Foodbanks in areas of full UC roll-out for six months or more have seen a 30% average increase, compared to a year before.


PCS says there is no justifiable reason for any delay to be in-built into the UC system.


The justification the government has given is that a four-week payment made in arrears reflects the world of work. But this is just not true, according to research by the Resolution Foundation. In October 2017, it published a new analysis, using actual bank transaction data, which shows that the majority (58%) of new claimants moving on to UC after leaving employment in the last tax year, were paid either fortnightly or weekly in their previous job.


Claimants can ask for an advance payment while waiting for the first payment. In January 2018, this increased from 50% to 100% of their estimated entitlement. They can receive an advance payment within five days of applying for UC, and the period over which the advance is recovered increased from six to 12 months.


But the TUC points out that as this has to be paid from future UC payments, claimants still start their claim in debt. The Labour MP Laura Pidcock is leading calls for the first payment to be brought forward as an immediate payment to replace the loan.