Table of Contents
Universal Credit Sanctions
Universal Credit is a single monthly payment. The maximum amount payable is calculated by adding together various different elements, as explained here. I've made this page because I keep being asked if claimants who are sanctioned will also stop getting money for rent.
Conditionality and Sanctions
Claimants on Universal Credit will normally have to meet work-related requirements, to do with preparing for work, finding work, getting better paid work, or increasing the hours of paid work.
For claimants in the "all work-related requirements" group, there are 3 different ways in which benefit can be reduced if claimants don't meet the conditionality requirements. The Department of Work and Pensions [DWP] refers to this as 3 levels of "sanction."
A sanction reduces by a certain percentage the "standard allowance" that the claimant would otherwise have received. The standard allowance is explained here.
Exceptions
Link
However, in some circumstances - eg a relatively low-paid job but with no dependants or disability element - the only element of Universal Credit which a claimant might be eligible for is the housing component. In these situations, UC conditionality still applies and deductions CAN be made from the housing component
Hardship Payments
The sanction is worked out as a "daily deduction rate".
Claimants who are sanctioned may - in certain circumstances - apply for a hardship payment representing 60% of the daily deduction rate. This amount is "recoverable." In other words, the claimant's standard allowance will be cut by 40% and the remaining 60% will have to be paid back from Universal Credit once normal payment is resumed. Hardship payments can also be recovered by deductions from earnings or by court action. More about hardship payments here
Link Reference
This article is http://edyourself.org/articles/universalcredit.php. The following links to other websites are contained in the article, displayed as citations to aid you in printing the document.
- here http://refuted.org.uk/2014/02/27/housingelementsanctions/
- here
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/benefits_e/benefits_welfare_benefits_reform_e/benefits_uc_univ
ersal_credit_new/benefits_uc_sanctions/benefits_uc_hardship_payments/uc129_uc_hardship_payments.htm - http://edyourself.org/articles/welfarereform.php http://edyourself.org/articles/welfarereform.php
- http://edyourself.org/articles/childbenefit.php http://edyourself.org/articles/childbenefit.php
- http://edyourself.org/articles/claimbenefitspost16s.php http://edyourself.org/articles/claimbenefitspost16s.php
- http://edyourself.org/articles/dlatopip.php http://edyourself.org/articles/dlatopip.php
