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UC self-employment and DIVIDENDS - again
Hi
I’ve checked through previous posts and gathered some information. It’s been made clear that dividends should not be taken into account when assessing SE income. However, the DWP have told my customer that they ignore dividends once a year only!
Brief details (it’s all I’ve got).
- Customer has been receiving UC for 5 years. They told me that they gave full information about their employment situation at the start of claim but were never asked to report SE earnings.
- The customer and his wife are company directors. His wife has not been paid any money from the company but the customer has received dividends and a PAYE salary.
- They changed accountant and used new documentation which triggered UC to advise them that they should have reported SE earnings throughout the claim.
- They are now completing information about SE earnings to provide to the DWP and have asked for advice.
It appears correct that the DWP are treating him as both PAYE and SE. However, the information about dividends is concerning.
I have provided guidance about income/expenditure details (as outlined in the ADM and other resources such as revenueandbenefits). I was going to suggest that they list any dividends separately with the following statement: For transparency, I am listing dividends paid during this period as requested. However, I understand that these should not be taken into account as self-employed income as these are payments from the company and already accounted for when reporting gross profit. Dividends are not listed as included income in Reg 77 of the UC Regulations 2013.
I’d appreciate any comments about this approach - and any ways to strengthen the wording. I’m wondering if the DWP have internal guidance that suggests that dividends are to be taken into account because it’s coming up a fairly regularly.