Upper-Tier Caselaw

New Upper Tribunal decision (1 August 2022): UA-2021-000580-JR & UA 2022-000464-JR – Upper Tribunal holds that the DWP is entitled to withhold payment of universal credit until a national insurance number has been allocated >> More universal credit case law

New Upper Tribunal decision (5 May 2022): View Article

Hi

A happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you.

One of the questions I’m most asked about is – can DWP award UC before the date of actual claim?

The answer is – YES – but, only in limited and prescribed situations. One such situation is, when a tenant,…

High Court rules that DWP’s method of assessing earned income under universal credit erroneous in law. DWP should not consider earnings as applicable where the earnings themselves relates to another period.

On 14 June the High Court gave its judgment in
R (TP and AR) -v- Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Universal Credit). This concerned two men in receipt of income-related Employment and…

Four working mothers, supported by Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Leigh Day Solicitors, defeat DWP in a Judicial Review hearing, relating to the treatment of their earnings in the assessment of their Universal Credit award. At paragraph 68 of the judgement it concludes:

“On a proper interpretation of…

Decision CUC-166-2017 –

Summary

This case concerned the question of how earnings reported by her employer via Real Time Earnings (RTI) feed should impact on her award.

Her ‘assessment period’ ran from the 1st of each calendar month to the last day of the same month. The issue in…

Upper-tier Decision CUC-2385-2016 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a1e68d6ed915d6662f29354/CUC_2385_2016-00.pdf

Summary

1. The principal issue on this appeal is whether a room must be capable of accommodating a bedside table and separate clothes storage furniture in order to be considered a bedroom for the purposes of housing benefit and universal credit under-occupancy legislation. This might seem…

Decision CUC 1653 2016 https://www.gov.uk/administrative-appeals-tribunal-decisions/s-v-secretary-of-state-for-work-and-pensions-uc-2017-ukut-477-aac

Summary

In most cases, a failure to comply with a Universal Credit “work-related requirement” is sanctionable if done for “no good reason”. Does this mean the same as having ‘good cause’ for doing or not doing something? Does it mean the same as ‘without good…

CUC 2888 2015 – This is the first UC case considered at Upper-tier level and involves the treatment of earnings paid after the end of the claimant’s employment and after a claim for Universal Credit was made. Decision here

But, see later Judicial Review decision, relating to 4 working,…