With holiday season upon us and schools just about to break for the summer, many people will be considering getting away - either in the UK or further afield. However, if you're claiming a benefit such as Universal Credit, make sure you know the rules that apply especially after a warning has been issued from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Around 5.8 million people claim Universal Credit. Just under half of those people (about 40 percent) are working and using the benefit to top up low income while others are either looking for a job, or unable to work because of health problems. Claimants are among the 8.3 million people eligible to receive a £650 cost of living payment.
With the first instalment of £326 expected to drop into most accounts between now and July 31, some may be considering putting the cash towards a holiday. The Department for Work and Pensions has warned this is not OK. Birmingham Live reported that the DWP says people must stick to the conditions attached to their claim or it can even force people to come back from their sunshine getaway.
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What you can and can't use the cash for brought up a number of questions. Here's what we know.
If I'm going on holiday, do I have to tell DWP?
If making a new application to receive Universal Credit, you must be in Great Britain on the day it's submitted. You might still be OK if you travel abroad later that same day, or have come back from a holiday earlier that day.
Before you book your holiday or head to the airport, you should notify the DWP that you intend to go abroad. A holiday can be for up to one month but you must stick to the conditions of the claimant commitment you agreed to when first applying. That will probably include having to show evidence of looking for work - such as a list of jobs you have applied for.
The DWP says claimants must carry on meeting the conditions of their claim while on holiday, including any requirement to look for work. That includes putting a CV together, applying to vacancies and attending any interviews that crop up - and this has to continue while you are on holiday.
Can I really be made to come back home?
"Claimants must be prepared to end their absence abroad to attend job interviews or start work," the DWP said. "We have never asked anyone to come back early but it is a possibility."
This means that in a worst-case scenario, where an interview date or job start date is offered while you are away and cannot be rearranged, you would have to come back early from the holiday.
"Claimants must prioritise looking for work and taking up a job," an official told BirminghamLive. "And a lot of claimants who have been abroad have managed to do that."
The advisor said: "People must comply with their Claimant Commitment and still have to do that while abroad. If a claimant is in an intensive work search regime, they are expected to spend 35 to 37 hours a week looking for work."
Can my Universal Credit be stopped?
The DWP official explained: "There are no limits to the number of periods away of up to one month that are allowed in each year. But when any period of time abroad exceeds a month, we are notified and have to decide if the extended absence can be approved."
If a prolonged absence does not fall under the specific circumstances when the one-month period can be extended, then the Universal Credit assessment period is reduced to nil. That means no Universal Credit will be paid on the next due date.
Your Universal Credit won't be terminated altogether so you won't have to start a claim all over again and wait another five weeks, but you won't get any benefit payment covering the period you've been away.
In some situations, an extended absence will be approved by the DWP and then requirements to look for work can be switched off. These include bereavements and medical treatment.
In the case of the death of a close relative such as a partner, child or a young person the claimant is responsible for, while you are abroad, these rules can be suspended for up to two months if it is unreasonable to expect the claimant to return home within the month.
If a claimant is receiving medical treatment or is accompanying their partner, child or qualifying young person who is receiving such treatment, the DWP can consider agreeing to an extended absence for up to six months. If the claimant can provide evidence of this, their work-related requirements can be switched off while they are abroad.
Work requirements can also be switched off for Crown servants and HM Armed Forces who are posted overseas, and for offshore workers (such as those on oil rigs).
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