Thousands on Universal Credit could be owed £5,000 | European Markets

A possible windfall awaits 1000’s of Common Credit score recipients as Leigh Day solicitors champion a legal battle for 275 claimants who misplaced their Extreme Incapacity Premium (SDP) during the swap to the new benefit system.

In line with an replace on Leigh Day’s web site, up to 13,000 people may very well be entitled to compensation from the Division for Work and Pensions (DWP), with attainable payouts “in excess of £5,000”.

The law firm’s web site discloses that settlements between £200 and £3,000 have already been awarded to over 200 claimants for income misplaced after transitioning to Common Credit score earlier than January 2019.

These people had forfeited their SDP earlier than the DWP launched the ‘SDP Gateway scheme’, geared toward safeguarding in opposition to such losses—akin to the Transitional Safety funds now accessible to these shifting from legacy advantages to Common Credit score.

Furthermore, the web site factors out that some claimants additionally missed out on the ‘Enhanced Incapacity Premium’ (EDP), resulting in a month-to-month income drop of as a lot as £180. This substantial loss was challenged within the Excessive Court docket by two benefit recipients, often known as TP and AR, represented by Leigh Day, reviews the Each day Document.

Their victorious lawsuit resulted within the creation of the SDP Gateway.

Within the wake of a landmark Excessive Court docket verdict backing claimants TP and AR, Leigh Day’s human rights squad, led by companion lawyer Ryan Bradshaw, has taken up the mantle for 275 claimants going through comparable financial woes amid their transfer to Common Credit score. Bradshaw skilfully negotiated the non-pecuniary phrases, prompting the Division for Work and Pensions (DWP) to offer redress for the “stress and injury to feelings they had suffered”.

Particulars on Leigh Day’s web site reveal: “The DWP have agreed to an August 2025 deadline to set up a lawful compensation scheme to repay his clients for the loss of income, which Ryan Bradshaw estimates could be worth in excess of £5,000 per person.”

With suspicion looming giant, Mr. Bradshaw surmises that round 15,000 extra advantages recipients might qualify for financial restitution from the DWP. He expressed satisfaction with the end result for his shoppers however acknowledged a wider problem, stating: “I am glad to have settled this claim on behalf of my clients. However, there are thousands of others who have been similarly affected who have not been in a position to bring a claim like this.”

His assertion carried an underlying fear for these unrepresented: “They too will have experienced the loss of £180 a month after they were moved from legacy benefits onto universal credit in the years before January 2019. They too will have suffered unnecessary stress.”

Asserting the crucial need for a broader resolution, Bradshaw strongly advocated: “A suitable scheme, compensating all the people who have endured discrimination at the hands of the DWP, ought to be urgently put in place. The mistakes made here should never be repeated.”

Those that suppose they might have been affected by the swap to Common Credit score are suggested to hunt unbiased help and advice from a non-profit organisation reminiscent of Residents Recommendation. The complete particulars of the story could be accessed on the Leigh Day web site right here.