Welcome to Part C which looks at questions raised that apply to everyone claiming UC, whether you are migrating from legacy benefit (morr info on that in Part B) or not. Everyone faces a common experience: making a claim, taking next steps (verifying ID and Claimant Commitment) and then keeping your claim going.

As this page has grown, we have split it into two simply because it had become too long to take in comfortably:

Part C continues to look at general questions such as: How does UC work? ; How much UC will I get? How do I make a claim for UC? How will I get paid?

Part D: looks at more specific areas of UC such as: How UC deals with sickness and disability?; Working and UC; UC and English prescription charges; What about help with the rent and council tax?

So, here in Part C we look at the following questions:

How does UC work? And how much might I get?

1 How does UC differ from other benefits?

2. Who can claim UC?

3. How do UC sums work?

4. Examples of UC sums

Making a UC claim

5. Is there a best “timing” for making a claim for UC?

6. Is claiming UC different if I claim with a partner?

7. What information do I need ahead of making a UC claim?

8. Do I have to claim UC online?

9. How do I deal with UC if I don’t have an online account?

Making a UC claim online

10. Does the online claim process “time out”? How long do I get to fill it in?

11. What is involved in making a UC claim online?

Contact with UC

12. Do we have to give a mobile phone number? Does UC phone us?

13. Can anyone else be nominated to receive UC texts, e-mails or phone calls?

Verifying My ID

14. Can I verify my ID online?

15. What will DWP accept as proof of my identity?

16. What if I don’t have enough documents to prove my ID

Other evidence and interviews

17. What other evidence might DWP need?

18. Is there any way of avoiding the need for a new claim interview at JobCentre Plus?

Help and advice about UC claims.

19. What is “Help to Claim”? Are Citizen’s Advice safe and competent to help?

20. Are there any other sources of help and advice with UC claims?

The 5 week wait for first UC.

21. Why is there a “5-week wait” for my first payment of UC?

22. What help is available during that 5 week wait?

23. What help is available with paying the rent during the 5 week wait?

How does UC work?

Q1. How does UC differ from other benefits?

UC can feel very different to other benefits that you may have claimed. Both the legacy benefits that UC replaces, and all other benefits seem to have a common way of doing things, but UC sets out to do a lot of things very differently.

But not everything changes or is totally new under UC. For example, the test used by UC to decide if you have “limited capability for work” is exactly the same Work Capability Assessment (WCA) as used by ESA. So, if you have passed a WCA under ESA, that current WCA status is good for UC too. And so, all the tips, tactics and experience built up over the years for getting through the WCA under ESA still work if your WCA happens to take place under UC.

The main UC differences are:

No need to switch between the different legacy benefits: everyone now comes under UC rather than the legacy need to switch between benefits if e.g. you move from working (tax credits) to unemployed (with income-based JSA) to caring (with Income Support) to being unwell (with Income-related ESA). You stay with UC throughout but just with different amounts and work requirements.
Digital by default: UC wants you to claim and communicate online, but you can claim by phone and receive communications by phone or post.
UC works monthly: rates, sums, earnings and changes are all calculated over your UC Monthly Assessment Period; all other benefits use weekly rates. That also means a 5-week wait for your first UC payment, a bit like waiting for your first payday if you were starting a job.
UC generally wants you to take on more “claimant responsibility”: UC has less of the low-level support/ flexibilities of other benefits and higher expectations that you will make the claim and keep them informed. This tougher ask of most claimants was mitigated by a promise of better Universal Support for those who might struggle with this. But sadly, this got lost in the cuts and it has been left to local councils, housing associations and advice agencies to fill the gap.
More focus on “work requirements”: Most of UC’s requirements for you to take action around work are copied over from the legacy benefits. So, UC has a wide range from: “no work requirements” (e.g. like IS for carers or ESA Support Group) to “all work requirements (as in JSA). But there are some new work requirements in UC and more emphasis on them and more sanctions if you are deemed not to have met them.
The UC computer system is much more fixed and less flexible, than the rules and processes of legacy benefits. But UC can also manage “work arounds” when they can’t change the computer and also leaves a lot up to the discretion of individual UC work coaches and decision makers. BUT UC is still bound by the law and regulations and ends up in Court when it forgets this….

Q2. Who can claim UC?

More or less anyone can claim UC, whether they are: in work or not, unwell or fit for work, a carer or have a disability, single or couple, with children or without etc.

There are some basic financial limits:

you must have less than £16,000 in savings; and
your income has to be low enough – in your particular circumstances – for you to qualify.

And you – and any partner – must accept a ‘Claimant Commitment’.

There are, though, some important restrictions on claims from:

16- & 17-year-olds
people from abroad
students

How much UC will I get?

Q3. How do UC sums work?

The UC means test works in similar ways to other means tested benefits: the broad principles of the sums are the same, but the details of how your maximum UC is worked out and what counts as income are a bit different.

UC sums are based on your circumstances and the income that you have received on the last day of your UC Monthly Assessment Period. So, it’s a new sum every month. The amount of UC you get could change from month to month and some people may even come off UC that month. For others the amount of UC hardly changes from month to month.

There are three broad steps in the UC sums:

What is your Maximum UC? i.e. how much UC would you get if you had no other income that UC counts. This is made up of a standard amount that applies to everyone claiming UC plus any extra elements that you qualify for in your particular circumstances. More details of these below.
What money do you already have coming in? e.g. from earnings, other benefits, savings etc. Some income counts in full (e.g. other benefits like Contributory ESA); other income is ignored completely (e.g. PIP), and some income is counted but only in part (e.g. net earnings from work)
Take one from t’other: And that’s the amount of UC you get that month. The sum is redone every month, so if your income or the elements you are entitled to change over the next month, so will the UC due. The amount you are actually paid may also affected by any deductions that come off the UC due (e.g. because of deductions for arrears, repaying an Advance Payment, any sanctions if you have not kept up with work requirements).

Your UC Maximum Amount in more detail.

Your UC maximum amount is made up of:

a standard amount for you and any partner. The rates are lower if you are under 25.

Extra elements depending on your circumstances:

Limited capability if you are unwell so that you could only do limited work, if any. Amount depends on which of two groups you are placed in by your Work Capability Assessment (WCA)
Carers: if you look out for someone getting a disability benefit (e.g. CDLA, PIP/ADP, AA)
Child elements: if you have children plus additions if they have a disability.
Childcare costs: if you have to pay childcare costs while in paid work.
Housing costs: to help with rent.
Transitional element: if you are getting a transitional top up to UC to match the rate of benefit that you were getting from legacy benefits on the day that you ‘migrated’ to UC.

So, your UC maximum amount could be very different from someone else’s, depending on which elements apply, how much rent you pay, whether you have migrated from legacy benefits or not and so on.

Your income for UC in more detail:

This can be very different for different people too and vary from month to month:

Some benefits income is ignored: e.g. any PIP or Child Benefit you get.
Most other benefits count £ for £: e.g. Contributory ESA or Carer’s Allowance are counted in full, so the amount you get is effectively taken off your UC.
Any earnings are partly ignored.
- If you have children or have “limited capability for work” you get a Work Allowance which ignores the first £411 a month of any earnings.
- Any earnings above that – or of your earnings if you don’t get a Work Allowance – are counted as 55p of income for every £1 of net earnings.
Income from savings and capital over £6,000 is counted at £4.35 a month for every £250 of savings over £6,000. UC will ignore any actual interest you get on savings. Your own home, possessions, car etc are ignored, but UC has rules about other kinds of capital. Also, UC has rules if you “deliberately get rid of capital to improve your entitlement to UC”.

And so…

The real answer to “How much UC will I get?” is rather a case of: “It all depends ….” But it’s not purely random, so you – or an adviser – can work out whether the amount of UC that you are getting is correct and what changes might get you more in UC.

Q4. Some examples of UC sums

While the amount you get in UC can vary, you can get an idea in some common situations and seeing how the UC sums work.

UC amounts can seem higher than legacy ones, at first sight, but do remember that UC:

is paid monthly, so the money has to last a lot longer.
includes help with the rent that needs to be paid to your landlord.

To keep things simple in all the examples below:

everyone is paying the same eligible rent of £500 a month, to make it easier to see the differences in each situation.
We have left PIP out of it as it has no effect on UC sums. Although a PIP award can help in other ways.

Angharad,30, has health issues of her own but claims UC as a carer for her friend Balal:

Her UC maximum amount is made up of standard amount £400.14 + carers element £201.68 + housing costs element £500 = £1,101.82

Her income for UC is Carer’s Allowance £362.36 (paid at £83.30 a week)
UC due will be: £739.46. This tops up her CA to a monthly total of £1,101.82

Balal, aged 34, claims UC through sickness. He already gets New-style ESA and his ESA Work Capability Assessment placed him in the ESA Support Group. So, he goes straight into the UC LCWRA group.

His UC maximum amount is: standard amount £400.14 + limited capability for work related activity element £423.27 + housing costs element £500 = £1,323.41
His income for UC is: New-style ESA £611.40 (paid at a rate of £140.55 a week)
UC due will be: £712.01. This tops up his Ns-ESA to a monthly total of: £1,323.41

Chloe, aged 43, did not have enough NI contributions for New-style ESA, but has been through the WCA with UC and has been allocated to the UC LCWRA group.

Her UC Maximum Amount is made up of standard amount £400.14 + limited capability for work related activity element £423.27 + housing costs element £500.00 = £1,323.41
Her income for UC is: £0.00
UC due is: £1,323.41

Donnal is 24 and just applied for UC and is awaiting his first Work Capability Assessment.

His UC maximum amount is standard amount (under 25) £316.98 + housing costs element £500 = £816.98
His income for UC is: £0.00
UC due is: £816.98

(Note: Donnal gets less because he is under 25… If he was in private rented accommodation, he might also get less with the rent as may well be restricted to single room rent in a shared house)

Making a claim for UC

Q5. Is there a best “time” for making my UC claim?

You may not have much choice. Life changes may decide this for you: losing a job, becoming a carer, becoming unwell. At first sight you might just want to claim UC as soon as possible to avoid missing out.

But there can be situations when it can be worth holding back a little. For example:

If you have just lost a job, when can you expect your last pay from work? You might want to hold off UC so that your first UC payment isn’t reduced by end of job payments.
If you are still on legacy benefits and just about to get your next payment you might want to hold off claiming UC until you have had it, as submitting your UC claim will close off any legacy payments in the pipeline.
If you are earning and need to claim UC, it can be a good idea to keep the end of your Monthly Assessment Period clear of work paydays especially if the date moves around a bit (e.g. last Friday of the month). Otherwise, odd things can happen in your monthly UC sums.

Q6. Is claiming different if I am one of a couple?

Yes. Under the old legacy benefits, a couple would have filled in one claim form together as part of a joint claim.

Under UC, a couple is still assessed together, looking at their joint income and savings. But the difference under UC is that each partner has to make an individual claim, but then the two claims are linked. The main reason for this is that each partner will have their own – and possibly very different – work requirements. For example, one partner may be working or actively looking for work, while the other might be a carer or too unwell to work.

The first partner to claim declares they have a partner, and they will be given a link code to pass on to their partner. They then go through the UC claim as usual giving all the details.
The second partner inserts the link code at the start of their claim and will find lots of the form is already completed from the details made by their partner on the first claim. So, the claim process can be much quicker for the partner who goes 2^nd.

Each partner will need their own e-mail address for their individual UC account.

You will each have to agree to a separate Claimant Commitment setting out what you each need to do to meet your individual UC work requirements.

Q7. What details do I need ahead of claiming UC?

UC wants information about you (e.g. name, address, NI number date of birth), your health, any children you are claiming for, any other income you have, savings over £6,000, your rent, whether you are caring for someone, any children you are claiming for. So, it’s worth gathering as much of this information as you can before starting to make your claim.

Although UC is asking for more details than other means tested benefits, it does help that:

You don’t have to make separate claims for e.g. help with the rent (as for legacy HB) or amounts for any children (as in legacy CTC)
The UC online claim system picks out which questions to ask you. So, if you answer “No” to “Have you got any children?”, you won’t get any of the follow up questions about children’s names, ages whether still at school etc.
The questions come up in sections called “To Dos”.
you only see a couple of questions on your screen at a time, which may make it easier to focus on answering those.

If a question does pop up that doesn’t seem relevant, don’t ignore it but say no or nil etc.

You can see a DWP video walk through of the claim process at:

You can also try out a practise/mock UC form. This will just disappear and won’t go to UC nor start a claim but is there as a training aid or just to see what a form looks like.

Q8. Do I have to claim UC online?

NO – UC would like you to claim online, and many people find it is easier once they get used to it.

But you can claim over the phone instead. The UC Helpline will need a reason why you couldn’t claim online and will be keen to see if you might be able to with some help from e.g. Help to Claim UC run by Citizens Advice. The sort of reasons they accept are:

physical or mental health problems,
lack of equipment (e.g. a laptop or smartphone),
poor broadband /mobile signal in your area
literacy issues or lack of familiarity with doing stuff online.

Once UC agree to you making a phone claim, they will make an appointment for someone from UC to go through the questions with you. They will be typing your answers into an online claim.

Q9. How do I contact UC if I don’t access an online UC account?

If you claim by phone, you may not have wanted to set up an online account and use that for swapping messages with UC Service centres or your UC work coach.

UC will ask if you might manage an online account but just need help to make your initial claim by phone. But if that would not work for you, then you can choose between receiving contact from UC by either: email, phone calls, text messages or post.

Claiming UC online

Q10. Is the online UC claim timed?

Once you have started to fill in the online claim form, you have up to 28 days to finish it, and press “Submit claim” at the end. However, your date of claim – the date from which your UC will start from – is only set once you have clicked on the green ‘Submit” button.

UC can be backdated for up to a month, but usually you need a good reason such as health or family crisis.

You do not have to fill your claim all in one go and you can save as you go along. So, you can just take a break or go to find some information that you don’t have to hand.

If you do leave the screen open without typing anything, you will be logged out., mainly to protect your details (e.g. if you leave a library computer on. But when you log back in you can start back from where you last saved, so that you do not have to go all the way back to the beginning.

Q11. What’s it like claiming UC online?

To begin at the beginning…

Start by clicking Apply Online on the UC page Universal Credit: How to claim – GOV.UK .
You may be able to claim by phone instead: see Question 8 above.
Set up your UC online account. It’s like setting up any other online accounts with e.g. Amazon or Netflix. You need an e-mail address to sign up with. You can get free emails from a range of providers. You then choose a safe but memorable password. The system then verifies your e-mail – by sending a link to either your email or a text to a mobile phone.
Are you making a joint claim? i.e. are you claiming with a partner? If YES, then you will each need to do a claim, but the first partner to claim is given a link code to share with the 2^nd partner, which s/he then enters when they do their claim. See more at Question 5

Welcome to your “To Do” List

The online claim now appears as a To Do list on your UC online account page.
About You: the usual questions: name address, National Insurance number, date of birth
Other To dos: these follow on with groups of questions about your: nationality, housing situation, work situation, other income and savings, health issues, children and others that you care for, bank details.
Tailoring your questions: ach To Do section start with general questions so e.g. if you answer NO to whether you have any children living with you, you won’t then be asked follow up questions about their names, ages, if still at school etc
Questions appear one or two at a time, so the page won’t be too full.
Take your time but…: You do not have to complete the whole To Do list in one go. You have up to 28 days once you start, but do remember your claim won’t start until you get to the end and submit your claim…And also complete some Next Steps.
Time outs: if you don’t do anything on a screen for 30 minutes your session will time out, but you can pick up at the point where you last saved it.

Declaration

Once you have completed all the sections, you will be asked to declare that all your answers are correct by ticking Yes or No against each section.
Tick Yes if you are happy with your answers or No if you want to go back and check and maybe change anything. Once you’re happy with everything, tick Yes for all sections.
A general Claimant Commitment: this is where you agree to tell UC if anything changes and that you will reach an agreement about any UC work requirements you may have.
Submit claim so now you can press the green “Submit Claim” button and the online equivalent of a claim form is now done. But remember, there are some Next Steps to do before you have done a complete UC claim and can get any money.

Next Steps

Confirm your identity: you may be able to do this online or you may need to take documents to JobCentre Plus or have a biographical interview – see Question 13 to 15
Book your appointment with your UC work coach at your local JobCentre Plus – the system will show you a number to ring to do this. Sometimes, it may say there is no need to ring, and they will be in contact if they need to make an appointment with you.
Complete any new tasks – there may be some extra To Dos e.g. to send in GP’s fitness note, or other evidence to support your claim. You may be able to do that via your online account or if not take it with you to your interview.
Attend your appointment at JobCentre Plus. This will be to confirm your ID if you haven’t managed online, bring any evidence they ask for and to agree a more individual and detailed Claimant Commitment.

NB The Submit Claim button will set the start date for your UC claim.

But it will not be a complete and valid UC claim until you complete the Next Steps above. That is why too many UC claims end up being cancelled. And that would mean starting all over again, while missing out on UC in the meantime and on any protections if you were migrating to UC from the old legacy benefits.

So, if you get stuck do get advice and support to make a full and valid UC claim.

Some helpful links to find out more:

You can see a DWP video walkthrough of the online claim process – including some screenshots of the online claim pages at:
You can also have a practise run on a mock-up of the UC claim form at:

(NB this is not a DWP site, so no claim is made if you use it and none of your details are saved. It is just to offer a practise run to give you more of an idea ahead of making a claim for real)

Ongoing contact with UC and the DWP

Q12. Do we have to give a mobile number? Do they phone us?

UC do need an email address to open your UC online account. As part of that registration of a new account, UC will then verify that the e-mail by either:

asking you to click on a verification link in an e-mail they send to that address; or
sending you a text message to your mobile (which is why they ask you for your number).

But they don’t need your phone number. They can verify your account via e-mail and contact you that way or via you online Journal in your UC account. Or by post. So, if you would find it hard to be phoned or sent a text, you do not have to give a phone number.

However, if you think it could be useful, they can text you to let you know there is a message for you on your account, to save you from having to keep logging on just in case. They would need your number for that, but they can also notify you in other ways too.

So, UC do ask for – but don’t need to have – your mobile number. You might prefer e-mail (where the accounts are usually free).

Any notification you do get won’t tell you in detail about the message but just lets you know to have a look. This is to protect your privacy if someone glances at your phone.

Q13. Can anyone else be nominated to receive UC e-mails, texts or phone calls?

UC does not have an easy process when all you need is someone else to be your contact point, but when you might otherwise be quite able to manage your claim.

Appointeeship

UC’s default position, after some small flexibilities, is to go the whole hog and suggest you get someone else to act as your “appointee”. She or he will take on all the running and responsibilities of your claim which may add up to far more help than you need.

Appointeeship, though is still a lot less formal than giving someone powers of attorney It is only an arrangement for benefit claims, but it may still be way too much.

The lack of Universal Support

Part of the justification for asking more from most UC claimants, was that there would be more help available to those who really need it and who could really struggle with UC’s requirements for more “claimant responsibility” This was going to be via a partnership system of Universal Support with funding from DWP. Sadly, this got cut, but some local councils, housing associations and advice organisations are filling the gaps – check in your local area.

Will UC talk to a trusted friend, family member or adviser?

Yes, especially if you are with them and can answer security questions before handing the phone over.

But UC make it more difficult than any other benefits if you are not there with your friend or adviser:

other benefits use implied consent. So, if your friend or adviser calls and can answer some security questions, DWP will assume that they have your consent to talk to them about your claim.
But UC wants you to give explicit consent before they will talk to anyone else. That means sending a message via your UC journal to give specific permission for them to talk to a named individual about a particular aspect of your claim. And that permission needs to be renewed every month.

This extra concern probably comes from a misunderstanding about data protection: Just because UC is more online than other benefits, they do not have to be that different and the Information Commissioner’s Office has told them so.

If they really felt the need for something a little more formal, they could always have adopted HMRC’s process for the former tax credits which were even more computerised than UC. This involved signing a signed HMRC consent form which was good for 6 months at a time. DWP are experimenting with some changes, but for now, they do make it harder than it needs to be.
Verifying my ID

Q14. Can I verify my ID online?

YES… or at least you can try.

After submitting the claim, you will be asked to verify your ID online, if one of the ways that is suggested work for you.

At first the options didn’t often work but now there is much more chance that it will. You can upload pictures of documents that you may already have. So, it may well work if you have any 2 from:

Payslips from the last 3 months
A recent P60 form – the annual statement of PAYE income tax and NI deductions
A valid UK passport
A recent Self-Assessment income tax return
Credit references or records e.g. as part of getting a loan or signing up to a mobile phone contract.

If you can’t verify your ID online, don’t delay in submitting your UC claim. You can always follow your claim up, by verifying your ID in another way.

Q15. What will the DWP accept as evidence of my ID?

If you don’t have any two items from the list above for online verification, then you can produce evidence from a wider range of documents at your local Job Centre Plus. They ask for three things: one Photo ID, one proof of address and one further ID.

The examples given in DWP Guidance include:

Photo ID:

passport from any country
photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
NHS identity card with a biometric chip
armed forces or police identity card
PASS card (National Proof of Age Standards Scheme)
eVisa or expired biometric residence permit (BRP) if you do not have an eVisa, showing you’re allowed to stay in the UK for 6 months or more.
foreign national identity card (but not identity cards issued under the UK National Identity Scheme)
immigration status document or other travel document showing you’re allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely.
certificate of naturalisation as a British citizen, which shows you’re allowed to work in the UK.
foreign photocard driving licence with an international driving permit, valid for up to 12 months from the date you entered the UK.
a residence permit, registration certificate or other document showing your right to live permanently in the UK, if you’re a national of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
permanent residence card issued to a family member of a national of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein

Proof of address

This can include any of the following:

mobile phone, landline phone, gas, water or electricity bill dated within the last 6 months.
bank, building society, credit card or credit union statement, dated within the last 6 months.
current Council Tax statement
UK full or provisional photocard driving licence (if not already used as photo ID)
UK full paper driving licence
vehicle registration documents
your most recent tax notification from HMRC (for example, tax assessment, statement of account, notice of coding)
any other correspondence from HMRC (but not a P45 or P60)
mortgage statement
letter from your employer
letter from a school, college or university
buildings, contents or vehicle insurance policies
life insurance or assurance policies
council rent card or tenancy agreement.
proof from the electoral register that you live at the address.
personal loan account statement
student loan documents
letter from an accountant or solicitor
certificate from a utility supplier showing you use a pre-payment arrangement at your address, dated within the last 6 months.

Further proof of identity

This can include any of the following:

current debit, credit, or store card with a statement confirming the details on the card.
P45 or P60
savings account book
personal cheque book

Or any of the following if these have not already been used to prove your address above:

mobile phone, landline phone, gas, water or electricity bill dated within the last 6 months.
bank, building society, credit card or credit union statement, dated within the last 6 months.
current Council Tax statement
current or recent payslip or pension statement, dated within the last 6 months.
your most recent tax notification from HMRC (for example, tax assessment, statement of account, notice of coding)
student loan documents
mortgage statement
council rent card or tenancy agreement.
personal loan account statement
buildings, contents or vehicle insurance policies
life insurance or assurance policies
certificate from a utility supplier showing you use a pre-payment arrangement at your address, dated within the last 6 months.

Utility bills can be used for proof of address and as further proof of identity if they are from different suppliers.

Q16. What if I don’t have enough documents to prove my ID?

If you can’t prove your ID either online (see Q22) or by providing 3 forms of ID at the JobCentre Plus interview (see Q23), then the JC+ staff can do a biographical interview with you instead. This works a bit like asking security questions. This interview is usually done by you ringing to make a telephone appointment.

You will be asked questions about your life that perhaps only you might know, based on information DWP may already have about you.

They will ask 3 questions and want you to get 2 of them right. If you only get one of them right, you can have a 2^nd go, to see if you can get at least one more right from a further three questions.

If DWP don’t have much information on you, they can ask other agencies e.g. GPs, hospitals, CMHTs, schools.

How long have I got to verify my ID?

It will take that bit longer to get your ID verified if you can’t do this online. But this won’t delay the processing nor the date for your first payment of UC. However, you do need to get your ID verified – one way or another – sorted within a month of claiming UC. Otherwise, your UC claim will be ended. However, you won’t be able to apply for an Advance Payment of UC – to help you through that 5 week wait until your first UC payment – until you have verified your ID.

If you are migrating to UC from legacy benefits and delays in offering you an appointment are getting in the way of you receiving any UC, DWP can carry on paying you legacy benefits instead. Your UC will still eventually be paid from the claim date, but any ongoing legacy benefits you receive (apart from the 2-week run-on will be taken off your UC as income.

Other evidence and interviews at Job Centre Plus

Q17. What other evidence will UC need for my claim?

That may depend on your particular circumstances at the time you claim. But some examples include:

Your rent and housing situation: ideally UC love to see a tenancy agreement, but a letter from your landlord e.g. about the last rent increase will cover it. They have been very bad in the past about joint tenancies with ex partners still on the tenancy but have too slowly started to learn from Housing Benefit’s greater practical experience.
Your bank details: for how to send you your money and how much you have in savings.
Details of other income – e.g. other benefits, wage slips or self-employed earnings.
Information about any childcare provider – who they are and how much you have had to pay.

Citizens Advice publish a handy checklist of things to have ready to make a claim, available here

Q18. Is there any way out of a UC interview at JC+?

The normal process involves a face-to-face session at JCP for three main reasons.:

to verify your ID – but if you have managed online there is no need.
to bring along any further evidence needed for your claim, but you may have been able to send this online.
To agree a detailed individual “Claimant Commitment” that sets out what you must do to meet the level of UC requirements that applies to you. But you may not actually have any work requirements.

You will have already agreed to a more general Claimant Commitment as part of the online claiming process. And if you are already in e.g. the ESA Support Group or are a carer then you will have no work requirements. So it could be that with ID verified online, any evidence also submitted online and if you have no UC work requirements – that an interview is not actually needed.

Ideally the claim should pick all this up from your answers online and just let you know that UC will contact you if you need an appointment. But mostly it assumes you do need an appointment and gives you a number to ring to make one.

If you are certain that you will not need to call in, do ring that number anyway and explain. They will know you have rung and can agree if you don’t need to call in. Don’t just leave it or you risk having your UC claim cancelled for not making an appointment.

The problem of unnecessary interviews should improve now that the UC system is better at picking up on e.g. the fact that you are already in the ESA Support Group with no work requirements that need talking over.

Help and advice with UC.

Q19. What is “Help to Claim UC”? Is Citizens Advice safe and competent to help?

The short answer is YES. Although the Help to Claim UC service is an extra service funded by the DWP, Citizens Advice are keen to point out that Help to Claim will be just as free, independent and confidential as their ordinary advice service.

The extra staff that the DWP money buys will be trained up to the same high standards as other Citizens Advice staff and volunteers. And they will approach DWP as your adviser and not as their ‘colleague’. They will push back and press your case if there are problems with your claim.

The service is limited in what it can offer:

DWP originally only wanted it to help you to make that UC claim, but they did back down. So, the support from Help to Claim can carry on until you get your first correct payment of UC.
But now Help to Claim is only funded for help online or over the phone. Face to face help is via JobCentre Plus or through the usual Citizens Advice service but this may have a longer waiting list.

You can find full details of the Help To claim service at the following link: Contact us about a Universal Credit application – Citizens Advice

Or you can phone for England: 0800 144 8 444 ; for Scotland: 0800 023 2581 ; for Wales: 08000 241220

Q20. What other sources of advice are there?

There was meant to be a wide network of support – called Universal Support – running alongside UC, but the last Government cut the funding for this.

Many local councils and housing associations who were involved with Universal Support in its early days still offer a service. Check in your local area.

Many Local Mind Associations have a benefits adviser, who may be ideally placed to help you if you are living with mental health issues.

There may be a range of other independent advice centres, Disability Advice Projects etc operating in your area too. Find out more via:

And there is also a lot of information online that may help you manage claiming UC on your own. WE hope this information helps, but you might want to look at Citizens Advice at: Universal Credit – Citizens Advice

The “5-week wait” until my first UC payment.

Q21. Why is there a 5-week wait until my first payment of UC?

The Universal Credit system follows a set list of predictable dates that are set by the date you make your UC claim.

For example,

if you start your claim on the 3^rd of June 2025, then this will start your first Universal Credit Monthly Assessment Period
That will finish on the 2^nd July. Your UC will then be assessed based on your circumstances on that day and on any other income you have had over that month. So, the sums are always done at the end of the month, and you get paid in arrears.
But your UC payment day will be a week later e.g. on the 9^th July.

So, future payment will – in this example always be on the 9^th of each month, so it could be more like every 4 to 5 weeks for future UC payments. But that extra time in your first month on UC stretches that wait to a full 5 weeks.

This is partly how the UC system is set up, but the general idea of you being paid monthly in arrears is to deliberately make UC feel more like being in paid work. Partly UC assumed that many new claims might be arriving with their last month’s wages in their bank accounts, but many claimants may arrive at UC’s door with no money. So over time – and under strong pressure – UC has got slightly better at offering help during that 5 week wait.

Q22. What help is available during that 5-week wait?

Changing the 5 week wait would be very difficult and expensive, but help is available during that wait.

Advance Payments

This is an interest free loan available to everyone who claims UC, a bit like getting an advance on your first payday when you start a new job.

Over time APs have become more useful:

It is easier to get one than it was without needing to show exceptional reasons that you need one.
You don’t need to borrow the full amount but can borrow less. If you then find out this won’t be enough, you can ask for a further amount but only up to the value of what your first usual UC payment looks like being.
Paying your AP back has been made a little less painful. You now have up to 2 years to repay it. And the standard rate of deductions has been reduced to 10% of your standard Allowance. But that can still leave a dent in a very tight budget for many people on UC.

Other help

If you are moving to UC from legacy benefits

time your UC claim to make sure you still get your last payment of legacy benefits.
you get a 2-week run on of legacy benefits e.g. Income-related ESA & HB. This is extra money: so, no need to repay it, nor is taken away from your first UC payment.

Whether you are migrating to UC or not:

You may be able to get help from the Discretionary Assistance Fund or Scottish Welfare Fund. You can check with any Local Welfare Payments in England although many will exclude help during the 5 week wait.

Any other help might still mean that you may need to borrow some money via an Advance Payment, but it may very well mean that you can borrow much less.

NB: The 5 week wait also causes questions about Help with the Rent and Paying English prescription charges . For more information on these please see under the sections about Paying for Housing Costs and Prescription charges over in Part D

Here ends Part C:

You may want now want to move on to Part D: Other questions about UC to look further into more specific areas such as: Sickness and Disability under UC, Trying out work under UC, Housing Costs and English Prescription charges