Universal Credit- Employer Presentation Updated 19 September 2016

The Government is introducing the most fundamental reforms to the welfare system for more than 60 years Rewarding work Encouraging responsibility Making work pay Helping those who need it most Supporting aspiration

The case for change The UK Government believes that work is the best route out of poverty, Universal Credit supports this by making work, and more work pay. Universal Credit helps to ensure people are better off in work than on benefits by: Removing the limit to the number of hours someone can work each week. Reducing a claimant’s Universal Credit payment gradually as their earnings increase Providing support for those people who might need extra help to manage their finances and get them ready for work Ensuring people can easily move in and out of work Weak - financial incentives in the current system • around 900,000 households would lose 70% or more of their earnings if they move into work for ten hours a week at the National Minimum Wage; and • around 800,000 individuals in low paid work would lose 80% or more of any increase in their earnings. Risks - from trying work in the current system • claimants who work more than 16 hours in one week cease their entitlement to out of work benefits. They may be entitled to in-work financial support through tax credits, but moving both into work and potentially back out is a risk to their household and income. This uncertainty acts as a barrier, especially for trying Flexibility Even if people earn enough initially to move entirely off Universal Credit, the rules allow them easily to resume their claim should their circumstances change within 6 months. This means that, without worrying about disruptions to their income, households can gain valuable experience from work and build their personal experience. Simplicity Universal Credit also removes the requirement to provide similar but slightly different information to different organisations. For example, a Jobseeker’s Allowance claimant, with a partner and one child, living in rented accommodation would need to report the start of full time employment to DWP, HMRC and their Local Authority, each of which would adjust benefit entitlements. Under Universal Credit this multiple reporting is swept away. 3

Rollout of the full service Live UC service in all 714 jobcentres areas in GB April 2016 Expansion to the full-service begins May 2016 Transition to the full UC service will rollout in phases between May 2016 - September 2018 Transition Testing migration will begin in 2017 National migration will start July 2019 with completion in March 2022 Migration Universal Credit is now live in all jobcentre areas across Great Britain. It is also available for couples and families in nearly 100 of these areas. Expansion to the full Universal Credit service began 25th May 2016, where we started taking claims for all claimant types With the rollout of Universal Credit full service, new claims to legacy benefits will no longer be available. This year we have started to scale up transition to the full service.   The intention is that all cases are migrated, and a full service is available nationally, by March 2022 Caseload – publication date 17.8.19 (next stats 14.9.16) 683,964 made a claim up to 04.08.16 303,839 on caseload as of 14.7.16 120,700 (40%) in employment 183,144 (60 %) unemployed

Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) roll out schedule County Durham   18 October 2017 Peterlee Seaham 13 December 2017 Bishop Auckland Consett Crook Stanley 21 March 2018 Chester le Street Durham City Newton Aycliffe Spennymoor

Universal Credit for HR and payroll staff HR managers - Universal Credit claimants in your workforce will be able to:   Payroll Staff – Universal Credit may mean a change for payroll staff who will need to: Be flexible about hours Send HMRC PAYE information at the time a payment is made Take up the offer of overtime Increase to full time hours Understand the impact of paying a bonus Accept bonuses offered Be aware that employees can be more flexible about taking on more hours Keep in touch with their work coach

In work progression trial A new trial rolling out to all jobcentres across Great Britain, aimed at helping Universal Credit claimants earn more and reduce their benefit dependency is underway The trial tests how Universal Credit claimants, who are in low paid work or live in low income households, can be actively supported to earn more It is testing different approaches to in work support. In work claimants are provided with regular face to face interviews with their jobcentre work coaches, who are helping them overcome any barriers stopping them from increasing their earning capacity through more work or progress into better paid work - such as lack of basic skills, low confidence and poor motivation The aim is to encourage employers to act positively in response to the opportunities that Universal Credit offers, exploiting the benefits of a more flexible workforce, and supporting claimants to progress once in work  

We are working with employers across the country Understanding what employers think – through structured insight work, regular engagement and events at national and local level Supporting implementation – delivering timely and accurate information so that employers understand what Universal Credit requires of their employees Communication – ensuring employers have the information they need to make effective business decisions based Universal Credit brings

Universal Credit communication campaign Great progress is being made in the delivery of Universal Credit. As a result we are now stepping up the Universal Credit communications campaign Activity started in the north west of England in early November 2015. It began with online advertising on Facebook and other websites to show how Universal Credit removes the barriers to work In addition, we are helping claimants of both Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance to be ‘jobsmart’ through a better understanding of their local jobmarket, broadening the types of jobs they are searching for and improving their jobsearch techniques As part of the campaign, claimants are being encouraged to use the Daily Jobseeker a site designed to provide hints and tips on jobseeking