The worried benefits claimant took to Reddit to share their predicament

Pay day fell outside of the Universal Credit assessment period, leaving one benefits claimant facing a ‘larger payment than usual’.

However this prompted budget concerns as they feared they’d get nothing the following month, when two wages would be recorded.

They took to Reddit to share their predicament and said: “My UC has recorded £0 earnings due to my assessment period ending 26th February this month and I got paid from my employer 27th.

“I am now due a larger UC payment than usual however, I’m now concerned about next month’s payment potentially being £0 due to two wages being recorded.

“Budgeting could potentially be an issue! Is there anything I can do about this?”

READ MORE: ‘I’m on Universal Credit – why is the Jobcentre suddenly demanding a face-to-face appointment?’

A helpful response from a frequent poster read: “If you’re paid monthly and end up with two pay periods in one assessment period, you can ask them to reallocate the relevant pay period to the correct assessment period thus avoiding the problem you have identified.

“Christmas is often quoted as it will happen to more people due to people being paid early in December, but it’s applicable for every assessment period in order to, as the legislation states, ‘maintain a regular payment pattern’.”

Another reply read: “Sometimes you can end up with more overall if there’s two pays in one UC assessment month and none in the other – usually when your normal UC award is low. Worth checking!”

According to the gov.uk website, if you do not get paid, or get paid more than once during an assessment period, Universal Credit can be affected.

This could happen if someone was paid monthly and their monthly payday changes, or if they were paid weekly, every two weeks or every four weeks.

Those who were paid monthly and saw their payday changed – for example to avoid a weekend – then the official advice states that Universal Credit would “usually be adjusted automatically so that you get your usual amount”.

However those who were looking at getting too much or too little Universal Credit, were urged to tell the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in their online account.

The website advice stated: “In some circumstances Universal Credit can be adjusted so that you get your usual amount.”