Recommendation 107

Should a claimant earn more than their work allowance, their Universal Credit payments will be reduced at a rate (known as a taper rate) of 63p for every £1 earned.275 However, since 2015 ‘only people with limited capability for work, or, people with a child or children are entitled to a Work Allowance’276 as a result of the Universal Credit Work Allowance Amendment Regulations.277 This means that claimants without children or a limiting health condition are not entitled to any work allowance: consequently, as soon as they start earning money from a job, they are subject to the taper rate as described above. Written evidence from Citizen’s Advice Scotland noted that a majority of people ‘new’ to their benefit advice services since April 2020 are currently impacted by this policy choice, where ‘Over 6 in 10 (62%) of the clients seeking Universal Credit advice for the first time since April do not have children nor a limiting health condition/disability–therefore will not be entitled to any Work Allowance.’278