Employees who are paid early at Christmas may be affected by the design of the Universal Credit (UC) system whereby claimants may be treated as receiving two monthly wages in one assessment period, resulting in a dramatically reduced or even nil Universal Credit award.
Last week the U.K. Government announced its 2025 Autumn Budget. Matt Cole, Advice NI’s Information Officer, breaks down the key points relating to Welfare and Tax Reforms, as well as Cost of Living measures arising from the Budget.
If you are in receipt of income-based ESA and have received a Universal Credit (UC) migration notice asking you to Move to UC, please be aware of the following.
Advice NI has strongly condemned proposals in the UK Government’s 'Pathways to Work' Green Paper, warning that planned disability benefit cuts will hit Northern Ireland hardest and risk deepening poverty and mental ill-health.
Government does not ‘come back for more’ from social security benefit claimants, the truth is that there is no more to take
Following cuts estimated to amount to £5billion announced last week in the ‘Pathways to Work’ Green paper, it was rumoured that the Chancellor in the Spring Statement today would heap further misery on vulnerable, low-income families and people with disabilities reliant on social security.
People on the lowest incomes – both in and out of work – have endured a decade of austerity; with freezes and cuts to social security benefits and in-work support; hollowing out support, undermining resilience and ability to cope with adversity.
Advice NI responds to plans by the UK Government to begin the managed migration of millions of people in Great Britain off legacy benefits and on to Universal Credit.
We welcome the announcement from Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey that the end date for bedroom tax mitigations has been removed.
Leading advice charity; Advice NI Head of Policy, Kevin Higgins and Professor Eileen Evason CBE is urgently calling on the NI Executive to extend Welfare Mitigations to alleviate further hardship in NI.
The scheme offers financial support to individuals in Northern Ireland facing crisis situations.
