Cost of living crisis: some low-paid workers miss out on £326 help

theguardian.com:

Some low-paid workers on universal credit have missed out on the government’s first cost of living payment because of payroll quirks that removed their benefit entitlement during the key window set by the government.

“I was going to use it to load up my gas meter, get ahead on my electricity and fill up the freezer,” said David Evans, a 55-year-old IT apprentice, of his plans for the £326 payment that in recent weeks has been landing in the bank accounts of struggling Britons.

Evans is paid weekly but universal credit is calculated on a monthly basis, so in four months of the year, when his claim is based on five rather than four weeks’ pay, he does not receive any money. “I receive about £140 in the months I am entitled to a payment,” he said.

To receive the cost of living payment (a second one worth £324 will paid in the autumn), you had to be eligible for a universal credit payment in an assessment period that ended between 26 April and 25 May. The government website warns that you won’t receive the giveaway if your earnings reduce the benefit to £0 in this key window.

This happened to Evans as the assessment period coincided with a month when his claim was based on five weeks’ pay, so fell to zero. “Although the number of people paid weekly is not a high percentage of the UK labour force, they are the lowest-paid and will be claiming benefits to increase their income,” he said. “A decent number of those people, and some of those paid four-weekly, will have been at risk of not getting this money.”

A supermarket worker, who declined to be named, also got in touch to say she had been affected. She suggests that many of her peers would have been, too. “I work at a large supermarket and am paid every four weeks,” she said. “I