Christmas payment date changes
All payments due on December 26 (Monday) will now be paid earlier on December 23 (Friday) whilst payments due on December 27 (Tuesday) will be made on December 23 (Friday).
Anyone receiving Universal Credit payments due on December 28 (Wednesday) will be paid as normal with other DWP payments due on December 28 being confirmed for December 23 (Friday).
New Year payment date changes in Scotland
All payments due on January 2 (Monday) will be made on December 30 (Friday) with payments due on January 3 (Tuesday) now being paid on December 30 (Friday) if you live in Scotland. Elsewhere, it will be paid as normal.
Child Benefit payment dates over Christmas
These payment date changes affect people receiving Child Benefit or Guardian’s Allowance. It may also affect those receiving Working Tax Credits or Child Tax Credits.
Christmas
Payments due on December 26 will be made on December 23 whilst payments due on December 27 will be made on December 23.
In addition to these date changes, December 28 (Wednesday) payments will now be due on December 23 with payments due on December 29 (Thursday) now being switched to December 28. The latter of the payments will only affect those living in Scotland and England.
New Year
Payments due on January 2 and the 3rd will be made on December 30. Meanwhile payments due on January 4 will be made as usual if you live in Scotland. For those living in England and Northern Ireland, it will now be paid a day earlier on January 3.
How much is the Christmas bonus?
Eligible claimants will get an extra £10 on top of their usual benefits. It is paid to people who get certain benefits in the qualifying week. This is normally the first full week of December.
If someone thinks they should receive the bonus but they have not received it, they are being advised to contact the relevant Job Centre or Pension Centre that issues their payments.
The Government website states: “You do not need to claim – you should get paid automatically. It will not affect any other benefits you get.
“All benefits, pensions and allowances are normally paid into an account, such as your bank account. It may show up as ‘DWP XB’ on your bank statement.”