Thousands on Universal Credit could avoid having payments unfairly cut under big benefit rule change

A CHANGE to benefit rules means some claimants will no longer be subject to sanction rules.

They won’t have their money stopped for refusing a job offer and won’t have to sign up to a claimant commitment.

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The new rules apply to anyone on Universal Credit or getting Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who is terminally ill.

From today anyone with less than six months left to live will not have to search for work.

Everyone who gets Universal Credit must sign a claimant commitment to get the payments, worth £257.33 a month for the basic amount.

The claimant commitment is an agreement between an individual and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

It sets out how you’ll look for work, or increase your hours, and is tailored to each individual’s circumstances.

Your money can be reduced or stopped altogether if you don’t do what it says and these are known as sanctions.

Before today anyone seriously ill had to ask for an exemption themselves and these were agreed on a case by case basis.

But now there is a blanket exemption written into the rules for anyone in these circumstances.

Announcing the benefit change last month minister for disabled people Chloe Smith said the rule change will “streamline the process and provide certainty to those approaching the end of their lives”.

Further changes are expected that could make getting benefit payments easier for anyone who’s seriously ill in future too.

The government last year promised to give terminally ill patients fast-tracked access to benefits.

A “12-month approach” will apply across five benefits, starting with Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance.

Currently it is six months and the change is expected to come in this year.

There is no specific benefit for anyone who is terminally ill.

You can male a claim for Universal Credit straight away if you’re diagnosed with an illness.

A medical professional like a doctor or nurse should fill in a DS1500 form that means you should get your benefits quicker.

You can find out more about how your claim could be fast-tracked if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness from Marie Curie.

For those not terminally ill, a separate change to claimant commitment rules means those on Universal Credit will have less time to search specific work they are trained in.

After four weeks, instead of three months, claimants will have to accept work in other areas or could have their payments docked.

Here are more Universal Credit rule changes coming this year and how your payments could be affected.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk