- Around 114,000 people on Universal Credit will be supported
to increase their pay while getting access to more one-on-one
time with a Work Coach.
- Workers on low incomes will be able to earn more and still
receive intensive support.
The changes will bring tens of thousands of claimants of all ages
across Great Britain into closer contact with a dedicated Work
Coach focused on guiding them to increase their hours, progress
in their chosen field, or pursue other opportunities – all aimed
at helping jobseekers to earn more money.
For people that are fit to work, the Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP) places Universal
Credit claimants on low incomes into groups known as ‘Light
Touch’ and ‘Intensive Work Search’. The Administrative Earnings
Threshold or AET determines which
group a person is placed in based on how much they earn, and
therefore how much support they receive to find work and develop
a career.
Changes which come into force today (26 September), mean that
people will remain in the Intensive Work Search Group until their
earnings reach the new higher threshold. This will mean they
continue to benefit from weekly or fortnightly meetings one on
one with a dedicated Work Coach, for longer. A single claimant
earning below £494 per calendar month and couples with combined
earnings below £782 per calendar month will be eligible for the
support.
The increased support will ensure claimants who are already in
work but earn low pay will continue to receive support from a
Work Coach until they are earning a secure income and forging a
sustainable career, helping grow the economy.
Existing claimants affected by these changes will receive a
message in their journal and can talk to their Work Coach to
understand what it means for them and help available. Claimants
will receive this journal message at the end of their first full
assessment period after 26 September.
The Chancellor announced plans last week to take this measure
even further, as part of reforms to the welfare system, with the
ambition to raise the AEThigher in the
coming months. This means more benefit claimants will benefit
from the additional support on offer.
Further Information
- The Administrative Earnings Threshold, which is set at an
individual or household level, separates the ‘Intensive Work
Search’ group and the ‘Light Touch’ group on Universal Credit.
- The current Administrative Earnings Threshold level for an
individual claimant is £355 per calendar month and £567 per
calendar month for couples. This is equivalent to a single
claimant earning the National Living Wage working 8.62 hours per
week and couples working 13.77 hours per week between them.
- Regulations which come into force today, Monday 26 September,
will raise the Administrative Earnings Threshold level on Monday
26 September to £494 per calendar month for single claimants and
£782 per calendar month for couples. In raising it, people will
have to earn over the new higher level in order to enter into the
Light Touch group.
- A claimant in the Light Touch group still has a claimant
commitment but they are not tailored or reviewed regularly. They
can also volunteer for Work Coach support.
