Case Study 1 (representative  – with names changed)

Jean had a progressive illness and she was receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA), as well as being in the support group for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). However, a change in her partner’s employment circumstances meant that she needed to make a claim for Universal Credit (UC).

Her partner, Paul, had been working and supporting Jean, but ill health meant he was no longer able to work. With our support, Paul claimed ESA and the couple made a joint claim for UC to cover their housing rental costs.

We were able to help Jean and Paul to set up separate email addresses and use the linking code to combine the two UC accounts into a joint claim.

Case Study 2 (representative  – with names changed)

Cindy had just split from her partner and had a young child. She was on a zero hours contract but had not had any work recently. We advised her to start a new Universal Credit (UC) claim, which would include her child, to cover the costs of her local housing association property.

We informed her that, if she was given any hours at work, she could claim 85% of her child care fees with a registered child minder and that she would be entitled to a work allowance. We also made her aware that only 63% of her earnings would be considered in a UC calculation.

After we’d helped her to set up a new email address and complete her application, an appointment was scheduled within the week to check her identity and then she could apply for an advanced payment.