The IS, IR-ESA, IB-JSA two week run-on means that where your Income Support or Income-Related ESA or Income-Based JSA ends as a result of you claiming Universal Credit, then your award of IS, IR-ESA or IB-JSA can, in certain circumstances, end up to two weeks later.
NOTE: If you are in a couple, the run-on rules only apply to the one who is the main claimant of these benefits.
The rules are different depending on whether you have been getting Income Support or Income-Related ESA / Income-Based JSA.
Income Support
As long as you make your claim for UC before your award of Income Support ends, then they you will be entitled to a full two week run-on.
The Income Support award continues at the same rate that was in payment on the date the claim for UC was made.
Example:
Ben is getting Income Support as a lone parent; his son will turn 5 next Friday.
Ben’s ‘benefit weeks’ for IS run from Thursday to Wednesday, so Ben’s Income Support is due to end the Wednesday after his child’s 5th birthday.
If Ben makes a claim for UC before his IS ends, he will be entitled to the IS two week run-on.
Example:
Salma has been getting Income Support as a lone parent. As her youngest has turned 5, her IS came to an end on 5th February. She made a claim for UC on 7th February.
So her IS did not end as a result of her claiming UC – it ended first. This means Salma will not be entitled to the IS two week run-on.
Income-Related ESA / Income-Based JSA
The way the two week run-on works for IR-ESA and IB-JSA is different – the rules don’t say the run-on has to be for a full two weeks.
This means that if your Income-Related ESA or Income-Based JSA award would naturally end anyway within the two week run-on period, then you won’t receive the full two-week run-on.
So if your IR-ESA / IB-JSA award ends because you claim UC, then you could find that your IR-ESA / IB-JSA award doesn’t end straightaway but up to two weeks later.
Example:
Lucy has been getting Income-Based JSA and Housing Benefit. She is starting full-time work and makes a claim for Universal Credit a week before her job is due to start.
As she is on IB-JSA on the day she makes her claim for UC, she can only get the IB-JSA during this two weeks while she remains entitled to it. Once she starts full time work she’s not entitled to IB-JSA any more so she’ll only receive a part run-on of one week.
But she will however be entitled to the full two week Housing Benefit run-on.