With the end of the school term ahead of a six-week break, a relaxation on international travels and scorching heats in countries abroad, many will choose to jet set away to foreign lands to make the most of their summer.
However, if you’re claiming state support such as Universal Credit, there are important regulations to observe, or you risk losing your benefit altogether.
As it stands, there are some 5.8 million across the United Kingdom claiming benefits, with about 40 per cent of those working and using it as a top-up on a low income. The others are either in the process of looking for a job or unable to work due to health problems, and with the Universal Credit claimants being among the 8.3 million who are set to receive a £60 cost of living payment, many may be considering of putting th extra cash towards a holiday in the sun.
The first instalment is set to drop into bank accounts between July 14 and 31, although some exceptional cases may see the money later, but as a newspaper outlet reported, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has warned that people must adhere to the prerequisites attached to their claim because it could even force people to fly back from their fun in the sun prematurely.
If you’re making a new application to receive Universal Credit, you must be in Great Britain on the day that it’s submitted. You may still be okay to travel abroad later the same day, but you might have to come back from holiday earlier if it’s due to be submitted at a specific time.
Before you book getaways or head to the airport, you must notify the DWP that you plan to depart the country.
A holiday can be for up to one month, but you must adhere to the requirements of your claimant commitment that you agreed to when you first applied for the benefit.
This will more than likely include having to show proof that you’re looking for work, in the form of keeping a list of jobs you’ve applied for.
The DWP say that claimants must carry on fulfilling the conditions while on holiday, as well as other assignments with regards to looking for work. This includes putting a CV together, applying for vacancies, and attending any interviews that come up. This is no different while you’re on holiday.
How on earth can anyone consider putting ‘benefits’, ‘holidays’, and ‘flights’ in the same sentence? If you’re poor and need benefits and food banks, and children are living on the poverty line, then they’re not rich enough to suddenly fly off to Benidorm.
However, we have to remember that many of those people that are in receipt of Universal Credit are actually working, sometimes in two part-time jobs so that they can put a few bob aside each week. After all, everyone’s entitled to a short break or holiday!
The thing to remember is that not everyone on benefits is jetting off on foreign holidays, but it’s easier to condemn them for the disaster that’s happening in this country because then it deflects from the richest and what wickedness they get up to while we’re not looking.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 