Universal Credit claimants could get extra £370 from DWP

The DWP has a scope of payments disposable to assistance those who person received cuts oregon sanctions

Universal Credit recipients could beryllium eligible for currency from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), perchance worthy up to £370 successful immoderate instances. Hardship payments, a circumstantial benignant of DWP payment, are disposable to those who person experienced a simplification oregon authorisation connected their payment payments.

This indebtedness tin assistance claimants with exigency expenses specified arsenic nutrient oregon bills. It's important to retrieve that a hardship outgo is simply a indebtedness that indispensable beryllium repaid to the DWP erstwhile the authorisation play ends.

However, this is usually straightforward for the claimant. According to Citizens Advice, you'll typically person astir 60% of the magnitude the DWP sanctioned the erstwhile month.

Therefore, if idiosyncratic receiving the maximum monthly modular allowance of £617.60 for a assertion wherever they unrecorded with their spouse and either are implicit 25, they could person a hardship outgo of conscionable implicit £370. To beryllium considered for a hardship payment, definite criteria indispensable beryllium met.

Who is eligible for a hardship payment?

In bid to beryllium considered for a hardship payment, the pursuing indispensable apply:

• Be implicit the property of 18 (or 16 if the authorisation was a effect of fraud)
• Struggling to conscionable basal needs oregon the basal needs of kid oregon young idiosyncratic you're liable for
• Prove that you person taken each measurement to not walk wealth connected non-essential things specified arsenic entertainment
• Show that you person done what you tin to person wealth from different sources, excluding selling your belongings, claiming a slope loan, oregon applying for a recognition card
• You person undertaken the mandatory work-related activities successful the past 7 days anterior to applying

How to use for a hardship payment

To use for a hardship payment, interaction the DWP directly. This tin beryllium done by updating your Universal Credit relationship diary online, speaking to your section Jobcentre, oregon calling the Universal Credit helpline astatine 0800 328 5644,.

When you taxable an application, you'll request to supply grounds to enactment your assertion and show that you conscionable the antecedently outlined criteria. Additional utile forms of impervious mightiness see a fiscal connection detailing your monthly income and surviving expenses.

Paying backmost a payment

As for repaying a hardship payment, it's typically automatically deducted from your Universal Credit payments each period erstwhile your authorisation has ended. This could beryllium up to 25% of your modular allowance and volition proceed until the outgo is afloat repaid.

If you're disquieted astir repaying a hardship payment, escaped proposal is disposable from Citizens Advice who tin usher you done the process. Comprehensive accusation connected hardship payments tin beryllium recovered connected the GOV.UK website.