I’m in sales and my partner is doing a UC claim

dylgal

hi all,

I have a query about UC. My partner is going to be starting her claim, as her maternity leave finishes in March, and I work in sales, where I can get a monthly bonus. However it is not guaranteed, as this month I didn’t so well so I won’t be getting any bonus in March for the sales I made in February.

Does my partner need to put on her claim, just my basic or what my wage would be including my bonus, even though it’s not guaranteed?

Thanks

Tergelet

In my experience, when it comes to Universal Credit claims, it’s best to report any income that fluctuates, like sales bonuses, even if they aren’t guaranteed. This helps ensure that everything is reported transparently.

OverlyAnxious

Assuming you're not self-employed, your earnings will get reported to UC each month anyway.

Personally I would just put the basic rate down on the first form, knowing that the UC payments will get adjusted for additional earnings each month if applicable.

(As you live together, it's a joint claim, not specifically her claim)

dylgal

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/988632#Comment_988632

Is there anyway around not having money adjusted? We have a lot of outgoings and if I get a bonus that is quite big, then it would affect her UC payments which would put us in a bad financial stance

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/988661#Comment_988661

No, unfortunately not. They are not her payments, it's a joint claim which takes both of your circumstances into account.

You will be on the joint basic rate of UC, which is approx 50% higher than the single basic rate. You will get the work allowance because of having a young child, but earnings above that allowance will create a deduction of 55% from the UC payments. Your employer provides the earnings information to a national database every month, and UC use that figure to calculate the deductions. If your income varies, such as getting a bonus, the payments will also vary.