The following payments are also treated as earnings:

• Statutory Adoption Pay
• Statutory Maternity Pay
• Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay
• Additional Statutory Paternity Pay
• Statutory Sick Pay

You must report these in the assessment period in which you received them, unless Universal Credit has told you that your employer reports through the RTI system.

The work allowance and earnings taper will apply to these payments.

Work expenses

Expenses that are wholly and exclusively and necessarily connected with your work are not taken into account when calculating your earnings, for example:

• equipment, tools and stationary
• overalls and specialist work clothing
• telephone calls for work purposes only
• travel and accommodation costs between different work places

Expenses that help you to be in work but are not considered to be wholly and exclusively connected with your actual work are treated as earnings, for example:

• travel costs to your place of work
• childcare costs
• parking fees

Fees from Service User activity

A Service User Group is a group of people who volunteer to help with research into public services such as health, housing or social care.

If you are paid a fee for taking part in Service User activity, this will be treated as earnings. All expenses arising from the Service User activity will be disregarded.

If you take part in Service User activity but choose not to take a fee, Universal Credit will not treat that fee as being notional earnings (earnings you could have had).