New rules are coming into effect next week which mean Universal Credit claimants could see their benefits cut.
As part of the changes, a minimum wage level for people on Universal Credit - known as the Administrative Earnings Threshold - will be raised to the equivalent of 15 hours' pay on the National Living Wage, making it £617 for single people and £988 for couples. Those whose job pays less than that will move into an 'intensive work search' group where they need to increase their wages to at least those levels by upping their hours or moving to a higher-paid role.
This is the second time the threshold has been raised. In September 2022, it was put up to the equivalent of 12 hours on the National Living Wage, at £494 per calendar month for single claimants and £782 per calendar month for couples. That rise affected 114,000 people.
