Transfers to Full Service
Summary
Overview of the transfer of Live Service claims to the Full Service
Content
Background to Universal Credit – Live Service and
Full Service
Universal Credit was launched in April 2013 and has rolled out across England, Wales and
Scotland.
The Universal Credit Live Service has a number of gateway conditions that excluded
claimants in certain circumstances from making a new claim. Claimants who passed the
gateway conditions could make a new claim online but cannot report any changes online,
instead they are directed to contact the Department by phone.
Since November 2014, Universal Credit Full Service has been running in a small number of
offices in London and from March 2016 expanded into regions throughout England, Wales
and Scotland. This is the same benefit (there are a few policy differences which are
included within guidance) but is built on a different IT platform and does not have any gateway
conditions. It is a much more interactive service, where claimants are able to manage their
claim by using an internet-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or PC to:
report changes in circumstances
view their claim details
interact with their work coach via their online journal and to-do lists
log their work search activity
Background to Transfers
From 27 January 2016, claimants who were on the Live Service began to transfer onto the
Full Service.
The first tranche of these claimants were from the Hounslow Office and transfer co mmenced
from the above date. These were followed by claimants from the Musselburgh Office
who began transferring to the Full Service from 23 March 2016.
From 27 April 2016, Universal Credit continued to transition further postcode areas from Live
Service to Full Service. Further postcodes will be transitioned throughout 2016, 2017.
Once an office transitions to Full Service any Live Service claimant whose earnings exceed
their Universal Credit entitlement, and has a nil award at the end of any Assessment Pe riod
(AP), will have their Live Service claim closed.
A claimant is issued a UC494 notifying them that Universal Credit Live Service will no longer
be monitoring their earnings. However if their circumstances change (for example their
employment ends or there’s reduction in earnings), they will need to make a new online claim
to start receiving Universal Credit again.
In accordance with Transfers commencement roll out schedule all claimants will start Live to
Full Service transfer activity. However if the claimant is temporarily absent or their claim is
suspended due to a Secretary of State decision, they will not be called to action. For further
information see Full Service guidance Transfers and Relocation Live to Full Service transfers
guidance.
Claimants will need to register for the online service, enter their details and attend an
appointment at the Jobcentre to provide their evidence. This is needed to ensure Universal
Credit Full Service has the most up-to-date evidence for the claimant.
Claimants do not have an opt out option and must transfer to the Full Service in orde r to
continue receiving Universal Credit.
Important information for telephony agents
If FIND shows the claimant is in a Full Service postcode area, they will remain the
responsibility of Live Service until the Live Service claim has been suspended by the
Transfers Team.
It is therefore important that the claimant is not redirected to the Transfers Team unless they
are enquiring about a transfer/switch to the new online service. see
universal-credit-
telephony-claimant-direction-q-and-a.docx.
To help with Frequently Asked Questions around the transfer process please select here (link
is external).
The claimant journey
1. The claimant is made aware that they will soon be asked to transfer to the Full Service. This
stage is orientation.
2. Jobcentre staff will take all opportunities (such as at existing Work Search Interviews or
Work Search Reviews) in the weeks prior to Full Service go-live, to have conversations with
existing Universal Credit claimants. This is to make claimants aware of what they need to
do, identify any issues and support they may need (such as getting a bank account if they
currently only have a Post Office card account) and provide on-going nudges at subsequent
conversations to ensure they are aware, and ready.
3. For claimants that are not seen in a Jobcentre environment,
uc491-orientation-for-uc-
online-service.docx letter is posted to them by the Service Centre.
4. All claimants will receive a
uc492-you-need-to-switch-to-new-uc-online-service.docx
(single transfer call to action letter) or UC500 (couples transfer call to action letter) when it is
time for them to start their transfer activities.
Claimants will then need to:
create an account by using a specific link, which is in the UC492 or UC500
enter their details online (this is similar to making a new claim, though it is not a new claim)
follow the instructions to book a new appointment at the Jobcentre
attend the appointment and provide all necessary documentation (this includes evidence to
support their identity)
If a claimant undertakes all of these activities, their claim will be transferred to the Full
Service. Staff responsible for undertaking this transfer role will have locally-held guidance to
help them.
Dedicated Transfers Teams undertake the activities to transfer claimants from Universal
Credit Live Service to Full Service.
When a claim transfers to Full Service the Transfers Teams will suspend the Live Service
claim or close the LS claim once all information has been gathered from Live Service that is
required to be transferred to the Full Service claim.
The claimant journey – where they do not undertake
required actions
If a claimant does not comply with the process or contact the Department, their claim will be
suspended and, after a further period of non-compliance, their claim will be closed.