Surrey Welfare Rights Unit

Who is this course for?

This course is for benefits advisers who have experience of Universal Credit and are looking to understand the impact of different forms of earnings on entitlement to benefits.

Aims

This course will give you a detailed understanding of what are earnings for Universal Credit purposes and the impact earnings can have on the claimant’s benefit award and claimant commitment.

Objectives

This course will increase your understanding of how to:

• Identify what are earnings and what are not, for Universal Credit
• Understand how Universal Credit calculates employed and self-employed earnings
• Become familiar with Minimum Income Floor and how it is applied to a Universal Credit claim
• Know how earnings will be treated in the Universal Credit calculation: including the work allowance, tapering and issues relating to irregular pay periods
• Explain how earnings can protect Universal Credit claimants from the Benefit Cap
• Recognise the relevance of earnings to the claimant commitment and work-related requirements of Universal Credit

A complete set of slides will be provided at the end of the course.

We have received support from the Community Fund to run this course.