Thousands of people on Universal Credit could be entitled to compensation “in excess of £5,000” following a legal challenge by solicitors Leigh Day on behalf of 275 claimants who lost their Severe Disability Premium after being transferred to the benefit. An update on the legal firm’s website explains that up to 13,000 claimants could be due a payout from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
More than 200 claimants have been awarded between £200 and £3,000 in a damages settlement with the DWP for losing out on income after being moved on to Universal Credit before January 2019, according to details published on the website. It goes on to say that claimants lost Severe Disability Premiums in the move to Universal Credit in the years before the DWP introduced the ‘SDP Gateway scheme’ to ensure that people no longer missed out – a bit like the Transitional Protection payments currently in place for those on legacy benefits moving on to Universal Credit.
The website also says other people missed out on ‘Enhanced Disability Premium’ (EDP) in the move to Universal Credit, seeing their income drop by up to £180 a month.
The loss of income was challenged in the High Court by two benefit claimants, known as TP and AR, represented by law firm Leigh Day. Their legal bid resulted in the introduction of the SDP Gateway.
After the High Court ruled in favour of TP and AR, Leigh Day human rights team partner Ryan Bradshaw took up the case on behalf of 275 other claimants who had experienced a similar loss of income after moving on to Universal Credit.
He has settled the non-financial element of the claim and the DWP have awarded each of the claimants compensation for the “stress and injury to feelings they had suffered”.
The website states: “The DWP have agreed to an August 2025 deadline to set up a lawful compensation scheme to repay his clients for the loss of income, which Ryan Bradshaw estimates could be worth in excess of £5,000 per person.”
Mr Bradshaw believes that over 15,000 benefits claimants could also be entitled to financial compensation from the DWP.
He said: “I am glad to have settled this claim on behalf of my clients. However, there are thousands of others who have been similarly affected who have not been in a position to bring a claim like this.
“They too will have experienced the loss of £180 a month after they were moved from legacy benefits on to universal credit in the years before January 2019. They too will have suffered unnecessary stress.
“A suitable scheme, compensating all the people who have endured discrimination at the hands of the DWP, ought to be urgently put in place. The mistakes made here should never be repeated.”
People who think they might have been affected by the move to Universal Credit should get independent help and advice from a non-profit organisation such as Citizens Advice.
You can read the full story on the Leigh Day website here.