Little-known Universal Credit rule could see you fly home from holiday EARLY – or risk losing benefit | The Sun
A LITTLE-known Universal Credit rule could see you have to fly home from holiday early – or risk losing the benefit altogether.
Sun seekers are jetting off on their jollies despite the travel chaos, but this mistake could see your benefit payments cut or stopped all together.
If you're planning on going abroad for any length of time you must tell the Department for Work and Pensions about your plans.
If you don't report this, you could see your claim stopped or reduced, and you might have to cut your holiday short.
You can go for a holiday for up to a month – but you still need to stick to the conditions of your claim, which involves looking for a job.
How you report a change in your personal circumstances depends on what benefit you are claiming.
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If you claim Universal Credit, you can record any changes on your online account, or contact the helpline on 0800 328 5644.
You can also tell your local Jobcentre Plus about your holiday.
The same rule applies to other benefits as well – you can see how to report your holiday on the gov.uk's website for each benefit.
If you don't tell the office that pays your benefit that you're going abroad, even just for a visit, you could be committing benefit fraud.
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This could see your benefits frozen while your claim is being investigated.
And following an investigation you could have to go to court – if it rules against you, your payment could be stopped or cut, and you could have to pay a penalty of between £350 to £5,000.
Other ways you might see your benefits cut
There are other ways you might see your benefits cut too – make sure you're clued up on them and what to do if it happens to you.
Benefit overpayments
Some households are suffering after being initially overpaid benefits.
If you've been overpaid benefits you can be asked to pay the money back, or it may be taken from future payments, even if it's not your fault.
The DWP can charge a £50 civil penalty if it thinks you have been negligent or aren’t cooperating.
You can appeal an overpayment within one month by asking for a mandatory reconsideration.
If your appeal is rejected you can take the DWP to an independent tribunal within one month.
The DWP will then have 28 days to respond and explain its reasoning for the tribunal to consider.
Sanctions
Another reason why your Universal Credit payments could be reduced or stopped altogether is if you're sanctioned.
This happens when commitments you agree to, like applying for jobs to get you back into employment, are not done.
Universal Credit claimants are expected to accept jobs they have been offered it as long as it's within reason.
If your Jobcentre work coach doesn't feel you're doing enough to get back into work you can be sanctioned.
Quitting your job without a good reason could see you sanctioned too.
If you've been sanctioned unfairly, the first thing you must do is check the level of sanction and for how long your money has been reduced.
You'll then need to contact the DWP for a mandatory reconsideration if you think they've made the wrong decision.
Missed migration date
Your benefits could be stopped if you don't move over to Universal Credit by a certain deadline.
The government has resumed a drive to switch more people on to the benefit.
This means you'll be told when you need to claim Universal Credit by – but you'll only have months to do so.
You'll get a Migration Notice letter sent to you in the post.
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It will include a deadline to switch from legacy benefits to Universal Credit.
The DWP has said you will have just three months to claim the benefit from the date of receiving that letter, or face missing out on payments altogether.
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