HELPLINE 0808 808 3555 Fledglings Shop Search Contact Logo DONATE Click to toggle primary navigation menu Home News & views More generous Universal Credit rules for working families introduced from tomorrow More generous Universal Credit rules for working families introduced from tomorrow 3 mins read Tuesday 23 November 2021 Tags: universal credit, counting the costs, welfare benefits Changes to the Universal Credit rules that will help working families are being introduced from tomorrow. Originally announced in the Autumn budget, the two main changes are: Work allowances increasing Firstly Universal Credit work allowances are increasing. Your work allowance is an initial amount of earnings that is ignored as income where a claimant is either a parent with dependent children or a disabled person with a limited capability for work. The work allowance for claimants who get help with their rent is increasing from £293 to £355 per month. The work allowance for those who don’t get help with rent is increasing from £515 to £557 per month. Taper rate reducing The second change is that the Universal Credit taper rate is reducing from 63% to 55%. The taper rate is the amount your benefit decreases by as your earnings go up. Currently, for every £1 of excess earnings you have above the work allowance your Universal Credit award is reduced by 63p. From 24 November onwards you will only lose 55p for every £1 of extra earnings rather than losing 63p. This means that working claimants will be able to keep hold of more of their earnings. Get advice Contact’s benefits expert, Derek Sinclair, said: “These changes are undoubtedly good news for working families getting Universal Credit. “However, it’s difficult to understand why similar help hasn’t been given to those working families who still get working tax credit instead of Universal Credit. Families on tax credits who are thinking of moving onto Universal Credit to take advantage of these more generous earnings rules should get advice first. Many families with disabled children would be worse off on Universal Credit due to cuts in payments for disabled children. “Contact believes the government should have gone further and increased Universal Credit additions for disabled children, especially for those who are unable to work due to their caring responsibilities. These Universal Credit changes do nothing to help out of work families, many of whom are facing spiralling costs as our Counting the Costs survey has shown.” Join our campaign to take action We can’t stay silent about the shocking findings of our Counting the Costs report. We are stepping up our campaign and calling for: • An increase in Carer’s Allowance and child disability payments under Universal Credit. • Energy companies to introduce a special tariff for households with sick and disabled children due to the rising bills facing families this winter. • The government to invest in specialist independent advice services, to help families with disabled children claim what they are entitled to. If you want to speak out too, the first step is to write to your local MP about these shocking findings and calling for urgent action. Write to your MP now using our template letter. Share Copy URL Share via Email Share via Facebook Share via Twitter Share via WhatsApp Share via LinkedIn Top About Contact Contact is a trading name of Contact a Family. Charity registered in England and Wales (284912) and Scotland (SC039169). Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (1633333). VAT registration GB 749 3846 82. © Contact 2021 Contact, 209 City Road, London, EC1V 1JN Tel: 020 7608 8700 Quick links Contact us Work for Contact Press office Privacy policy Cookies Terms Accessibility Safeguarding Join us on social media Facebook YouTube Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Helpline We run a free helpline for parents and carers with a disabled child aged from birth to 25, living in any part of the UK. Your child does not need a diagnosis for you to call our helpline. For more details about the helpline services and hours, please see our Helpline page. 0808 808 3555 Newsletter Keep up-to-date on all the latest disability news, Contact’s work and activities, and opportunities to get involved – sign up below. SIGN UP In 2020/2021 we helped 196,000 families with disabled children We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Cookie settings ACCEPT