TUC calls for basic level of universal credit to be raised to £260 per week for duration of COVID-19 outbreak

Union body highlights that, even after recent increase, basic rate equates to just a sixth of average weekly pay

The TUC has called for the basic level of universal credit to be raised to £260 per week for the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a new report, Fixing the safety net: Next steps in the economic response to coronavirus, the TUC highlights that the basic rate of universal credit equates to just a sixth of average weekly pay (even taking into account the recent £20 per week increase) and it urges the government to raise the rate from £94 to £260 per week - comparable to 80 per cent of the Real Living Wage.

In addition, while welcoming the steps taken by the government so far in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the TUC says more must be done to protect jobs, provide proper sick pay, and protect the livelihoods of those who lose their jobs. As a result, it calls on the government to - 

• build on the job retention scheme by increasing its flexibility to support short-time working, clarify that employers can reclaim 80 per cent wage costs for pregnant workers on medical suspension, and work with unions to fix the gaps in the self-employed income support scheme;
• increase the weekly level of sick pay from £94.25 to the equivalent of a week’s pay at the Real Living Wage - around £320 a week - and remove the lower earnings limit for qualification;
• make other amendments to universal credit including suspending conditionality, removing the savings rule, and changing advance payments to grants rather than loans;
• significantly increase child benefit;
• remove the benefit cap;
• remove the minimum hours requirements in working tax credit; and 
• introduce a wider package of support for households, including a fully funded council tax freeze, an increase in the hardship fund and a wider package of support for renters.

 TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said today - 

'Unions have worked closely with government during this crisis to protect livelihoods. But there is still more to do.

People who lose their jobs must get the support they need to make ends meet and to get back on their feet. 

If we don’t urgently boost universal credit many risk being plunged into poverty. That is not right.

We need a social security system that can deal with the current pandemic and beyond. It’s time to start a national conversation about how we repair Britain’s safety net and help those who fall on hard times to bounce back.'

For more information, see TUC calls for “emergency” boost to Universal Credit to help people through coronavirus outbreak from tuc.org.uk