ZA v London Borough of Barnet
[2024] UKUT 222 (AAC)
DR v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (SSWP)
8 July 2024
[2024] UKUT 196 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal
A woman received a large settlement from her old job. She applied for Universal Credit, but was denied because she had too much money. The judge agreed that, even if there were some minor errors in the process, she had too much money to get Universal Credit.
Key Facts
- •Appellant challenged the First-tier Tribunal's (FTT) decision refusing her universal credit entitlement.
- •The dispute centered on a £27,000 ACAS settlement from a former employer, comprising payments for loss of employment, redundancy, and injury to feelings.
- •The FTT found the Appellant held over £16,000 in 2019, exceeding the universal credit capital limit.
- •The FTT also found that the settlement payment couldn't be disregarded under the Universal Credit Regulations 2013.
- •Appellant argued that the FTT erred in failing to investigate a 2019 claim and in not disregarding the settlement payment.
Legal Principles
Universal Credit capital limits: £6,000 lower limit, £16,000 upper limit. Amounts above £16,000 generally preclude entitlement.
Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/376), regulations 18 and 72
Disregard of capital for Universal Credit purposes is governed by Schedule 10 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013.
Schedule 10, Universal Credit Regulations 2013
Regulation 75 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 specifies conditions under which personal injury payments can be disregarded.
Regulation 75, Universal Credit Regulations 2013
'Case closure' is a jurisprudentially suspect concept and does not appear in relevant legislation.
PP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (UC) [2020] UKUT 109 (AAC)
Compensation for injury to feelings is distinct from compensation for actual physical or mental injury.
Judicial Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases (16th Edition)
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The FTT's error in failing to investigate the 2019 claim was immaterial as the Appellant's capital exceeded the limit in both 2019 and 2020. The FTT correctly applied the law regarding the disregard of capital.