ESA to UC Migration

Jon wrote:

My main question is, between ESA ending and UC starting, will there be any gap where the Government wont cover my Rent, or should it just be a continuation without any financial loss to myself.

Jon, according to the B&W Successful ESA to UC Managed Migration (May 2025) guide, UC begins on the day a valid claim is submitted. The guide's not explicit, but this points to entitlement being continuous throughout the migration period. In other words, regardless of the intervening delay, on paper you'd be no worse off financially (assuming the necessary transitional protection is in place).

Moreover, the guide suggests that for the first two weeks, claimants are in effect paid "double". This is because they receive a two-week "run-on" of their legacy benefits—including Housing Benefit—on top of their UC. My guess is that this was intended to help smooth the transition from fortnightly to monthly payments.

It's not so straightforward, however! According to the guide, the UC migration rules allow the DWP to deduct the contribution-based element of your two-week run-on from your first UC payment. This means that those who're principally on income-related benefit can keep more of their run-on than those on contribution-based benefit, which might seem odd.

The guide goes on to advise, "If you are affected by this rule, you may wish to seek advice from one of the agencies named in this guide about whether you should ask for a mandatory reconsideration of the calculation of your first month's award of UC."

In the guide, see pages 37 ("When will your existing benefits stop?"), 39 ("Run-ons and advance payments") and 35 (check no. 2).

Gary, if I've gotten any of the above wrong, please correct me.