Incorrect earnings issue. tips please…..

I am having an awful lot of cases where clients earnings are misreported to UC that negatively affects UC entitlement. Claimants leaving work yet payroll still reporting they are working. Or reporting one years earnings as one month, so no UC for months.

To be fair to the DWP its not their fault these are happening, however when its pointed out to them that its a mistake (by sending bank statements, letters from employers admitting payroll errors etc) they simply refuse to revise or even allow a MR. Simply not interested.

Their stance is “we can only pay based upon what is reported to have been paid by the revenue, even though we accept they werent actually paid the money, so please go away”

Anyone got any decent tips on how to sort these out?

Thanks

Their own advice specifically provides for DWP to use discretion where they have evidence that RTI information may be incorrect

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/767105/admh3.pdf

See paragraphs H3192 and H3193.

This may not be the case I’m thinking of, but may be useful?

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/caselaw/item/secretary-of-state-concedes-that-where-an-employer-fails-to-notify-earnings

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/14536

We recently raised this with our local DWP partnership person who held the view that DWP have to accept the amount and payment date provided by RTI. If we want to challenge this we need to ask for an ‘RTI dispute’.

With all due respects to our partnership manager I think this (for the claimant) is adding an extra and probably unnecessary process into the mix.

In all the cases I have dealt with so far we have simply provided evidence of the actual pay date ( bank statements) and asked for a mandatory recon of the decision on the amount paid by UC.

I agree with the statement above that it would be unreasonable for UC not to use their powers under Reg. 61 when they have clear evidence that the RTI is wrong.

I would see the “RTI dispute” as something that the DWP may describe the case as internally but, for the claimant, it is a perfectly straightforward request for revision, although I personally tend to go straight to the MR to try and reduce the time it takes