Webinar: Universal Credit - “Wage Against The Machine”

Earned Income in the universal credit system: problems and solutions

The allocation of earned income to particular periods within the universal credit system has proven to cause problems for benefit recipients. The Court of Appeal has addressed some of these problems in a case brought by CPAG: SSWP v Johnson & Ors [2020] EWCA Civ 778. Amending Regulations have been made following the Johnson decision. But other problems remain.

In this seminar we will:
• Review the judgments of the Courts in Johnson, consider the recent amendments to regulations, and consider potential arguments claimants can mount in tribunals against the allocation of salary to a particular assessment period that predates the coming into force of the amendments in Johnson.
• Discuss the legal and administrative arrangements for dealing with problems in the real time information (RTI) feed. When can the DWP ignore the RTI information? Is an "RTI dispute" different from a mandatory reconsideration and can you appeal the outcome of that process?
• Consider issues that arise in interpreting and applying the rules about the “grace period” which protects some of those with a recent work history against the immediate application of the benefit cap.

Claire Hall is a solicitor working on CPAG’s strategic litigation. Before joining CPAG she worked in private law firm in public & administrative law. Alongside her work at CPAG Claire is undertaking part-time research into challenging automated decision-making by public bodies.

Martin Williams has been a welfare rights worker for 22 years. He currently works for CPAG on the Access to Justice project.

Owen Stevens is a welfare rights worker at CPAG where he works on the Universal Credit Advice Project. Before joining CPAG Owen worked for Royal Borough of Greenwich.

Method of delivery and timings

This two-hour webinar will run from 1pm to 3pm, with a 15 minute break at 1.55pm.

It will be delivered live online, via Zoom. Participants will receive an email link, a few days before the webinar, to allow access to the event.