A FORMER NHS worker says he is forced to live off green vegetable juice and can’t even afford to use his oven after his Universal Credit was cut back – all because of a simple mistake.
Errol Livingstone is having to reduce his spending after losing £88 a week from his benefits, and says even Greggs has become a “luxury”.
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The 57-year-old in Gateshead has been on UC for four months since leaving his role as a call handler for the NHS.
But his £319.84 a month is being slashed by £11 a day for eight days after he missed a course on interview techniques, leaving him £88 short this month.
Errol was sanctioned for this but had been under the impression he did not have to attend due to his experience in recruitment. He was later told he should have been there.
The sanction comes with Errol already struggling with his bills and food prices amid the cost of living crisis.
Along with looking for cut price food from Tesco, he also has to take food from his pensioner mum to get by.
Errol added to Chronicle Live: “I don’t think the Government has got an understanding of what it’s all about and what it’s like to survive. They haven’t got a clue what people have to go through if they lose a job or they are made redundant.
“I live on very little when it comes to food. I have had to adapt to do that. I’d love to go and have a coffee with people in Costa but I have to blank all that out, it’s impossible to do anything like that.
“I’m starting to find going to Greggs has got dearer, you start to think of those things as luxury.”
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Errol used to answer 100 calls a day for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the experience left him burnt out and stressed.
But now he has to keep be mindful of soaring energy prices and won’t even use the oven in his house.
He added: “I’ve turned the radiators off in the other rooms I don’t use. It’s not healthy to have a house with the heating off all the time, it’s going to get damp in time. You have to go into a bedroom which is freezing cold and your nose is blue.
“I have an oven but I could never put anything in the oven that takes too long to cook, it would be uneconomical. I’m cautious of boiling the kettle as I know that would cost. I try not to use the microwave very often either.
“I own my property but I know if I was renting it would be really, really frightening because it’s so easy to end up on the street. Once you fall behind in your rent it’s very, very hard to get back on top of it again.”
Missing meetings is one of the number of mistakes UC claimants can do which can see them get sanctioned.
This includes things like not accepting a job offer, missing an interview or meeting at the job centre, and failing to update your personal information.
How much is deducted can depend on the reason and if you’ve been sanctioned before.
Sanctions are split into four categories; lowest level, low level, medium level, and high level.
The penalty only applies to the standard element of Universal Credit.
Any extra cash through the housing or childcare elements will still be paid.
Anyone who’s been sanctioned unfairly can contact the DWP and ask for a “mandatory reconsideration”.
A spokesman from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said: “People are only sanctioned if they fail, without good reason, to meet the conditions they agreed to, and Mr Livingstone failed to participate in his agreed Restart programme.
“Throughout his Universal Credit claim, Mr Livingstone has been offered support tailored to his individual circumstances, via our dedicated work coaches, who are helping him get back into work.”
