Two wages in one assessment period checker
Enter your pay pattern and assessment period, and this flags the months where two wages could collide in one period, with the exact journal wording to request a correction.
My assessment period runs from 1 Oct 2026 to 31 Oct 2026. Two wage payments (1 Oct 2026 and 30 Oct 2026) have been counted in this one period only because my payday fell earlier than usual because the normal date landed on a weekend. My normal pattern is one payment a month. Please treat one of these payments as belonging to the correct assessment period so my Universal Credit reflects my actual monthly earnings.
My assessment period runs from 1 Apr 2027 to 30 Apr 2027. Two wage payments (1 Apr 2027 and 30 Apr 2027) have been counted in this one period only because my payday fell earlier than usual because the normal date landed on a weekend. My normal pattern is one payment a month. Please treat one of these payments as belonging to the correct assessment period so my Universal Credit reflects my actual monthly earnings.
My assessment period runs from 1 Jul 2027 to 31 Jul 2027. Two wage payments (1 Jul 2027 and 30 Jul 2027) have been counted in this one period only because my payday fell earlier than usual because the normal date landed on a weekend. My normal pattern is one payment a month. Please treat one of these payments as belonging to the correct assessment period so my Universal Credit reflects my actual monthly earnings.
How a collision cuts your payment
Universal Credit measures your earnings over one fixed month, your assessment period. It expects one wage in that month. When a payday is moved earlier by a weekend or when a four-weekly cycle drifts, two wages can fall inside a single period. The DWP then treats you as having earned double that month and tapers your payment down, sometimes to nothing, before it swings back up the following month.
The fix is not to change when you are paid, but to make sure each wage is counted in the right period. Report earnings as usual, then add a short note in your journal for the affected period asking for the payment to be reallocated. The tool builds that note with your actual dates, so you can copy it directly into your journal.
Worked example
Suppose you are paid monthly on the last day, with an assessment period starting on the 6th. When the last day of a month falls on a Saturday or Sunday, you are paid the Friday before. If that Friday slips into the period that already holds the previous month's wage, that period shows two wages and the next shows none. The list above marks any such period in the year ahead and gives you the wording to challenge it.
Common questions
Why did my Universal Credit drop to almost nothing?
Universal Credit is worked out on a fixed monthly assessment period. If two wage payments fall inside one period, the DWP sees a double month of earnings and tapers your payment down sharply. The next period may then show no wages and a higher payment, which is the mirror image of the same problem.
Why do two wages land in one period?
Two common causes. If your payday falls on a weekend or bank holiday, your employer usually pays you the working day before, which can push it into the previous assessment period. And if you are paid every four weeks, thirteen payments fall across twelve monthly periods, so once a year two share a period.
Can I get it corrected?
Often yes. Following the Court of Appeal case usually called Johnson, the DWP can reallocate a payment to the period it should have fallen in when a regular monthly wage is shifted by a non-banking day. Raise it in your journal promptly and ask them to reallocate the payment.
What should I do each time it happens?
Report your earnings as normal, then add a note in your journal for that assessment period explaining the double payment and asking for it to be reallocated. This tool generates that note for you. Keep a copy of your payslips as evidence.
Does this move my money or just my Universal Credit?
Only your Universal Credit. Your wages are paid when your employer pays them. The point is to make sure the DWP counts each wage in the right monthly period, so your Universal Credit reflects what you actually earn each month.