Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the legislation introduced in response to the Court of Appeal judgment of 22 June 2020 in the case of Johnson and Others, whether it is her Department's policy that people in receipt of early pay before Christmas will not see their universal credit claim affected should they receive two payments within one assessment period.

HMRC provide guidance for employers on reporting PAYE information when early payments are made at Christmas. This is to help protect their employees’ eligibility for Universal Credit.

Where two monthly payments in one assessment period still occur, the legislation we introduced to remedy the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of Johnson and others will allow monthly earnings to be reallocated to another assessment period, which means that only one set of earnings will be taken into account rather than two, and claimants will be able to benefit from any applicable work allowance.