A change was made to the Universal Credit system which took effect on 30/01/2023. This was one of the few changes in the September 2022 mini-budget which wasn’t cancelled and it relates to the amount a claimant needs to earn before they are no longer expected to look for additional or better paid work.
What’s changing?
When someone is working and claiming a top-up of Universal Credit, they are expected to earn at least the minimum wage for a set number of hours per week, and this is known as the ‘Administrative Earnings Threshold’. If earnings are below this level, they must agree to a claimant commitment and undertake work search activities with a view to bringing their earnings up to at least this level.
The Administrative Earnings Threshold was previously based on 12 hours per week for singles and 19 for couples. This has now been increased to 15 hours for singles and 24 hours for couples which means more working Universal Credit claimants will need to begin looking for extra or better paid work.
Who’s affected?
The DWP estimate that 130,000 claimants across the country will be affected in the following groups:
Working single Universal Credit claimants earning less than £617 per month
Working couples claiming Universal Credit earning less than £988 per month
What are the implications?
Claimants who find themselves moving to the intensive work search regime because of this change will need to engage with their work coaches by attending meetings, undertaking relevant training and evidencing their work search activities. Failing to do these can lead to a sanction being applied and them losing out on Universal Credit payments.
