Research - paying participant expenses and compensating for time: guidance

12. Impacts on DWP benefits

DWP have provided the following position statement on how payments for research and participatory involvement interact with benefits:

“For individuals in receipt of Universal Credit expenses will not be treated as earnings but any cash payments like incentives will be treated as earnings and need to be taken into account when assessing entitlement to Universal Credit. Voucher incentives will not affect Universal Credit entitlement [see Annexe B]. Vouchers should always be used when if you are using incentives for people in receipt of benefits.”

Scottish Government has made representations to DWP to change their position on this. We are of the view that all participants, including those claiming benefits, should be able to choose the mode of payment for their time involved in research. We are concerned that restricting benefit claimants to conditional modes of payment (i.e. vouchers) communicates a lack of trust and risks discrimination. At present, DWP has not agreed to a change in their position. This document will be updated with further information when possible.

Whilst no current Social Security Scotland benefits are means-tested, many have eligibility based on receipt of DWP benefits. Receiving payment via bank transfer may therefore have consequences for an individual’s entitlement to Social Security Scotland benefits.

Participants who are claiming benefits from DWP may require a letter from Scottish Government to their benefits advisor, setting out that vouchers received as payment for their involvement in a piece of research or a participatory engagement do not represent payment for ‘work’ and should not be taken into consideration when calculating their benefit payments.

You should make participants aware that this letter is available to them and that it may be in their interest to present it to their benefits advisor. You should also allow sufficient time in advance of participant involvement and payment for them to obtain and follow any required advice from their benefits advisor.

There are template letters available which can be adapted:

• Social Care Institute for Excellence template letter
• Welfare Benefits Jobcentre Letter | NIHR

In addition to concerns regarding the impact of paid participation on state benefit entitlement, some participants who have been assessed as having limited capacity for work may be concerned about the impact of participation on their eligibility. In these circumstances, a Permitted Work Form (PW1) should be submitted to the DWP, and the participant should specify that they are engaging in “service user involvement”. A letter should be provided by Scottish Government stating that “service user involvement” is not the same as paid work, and detailing any measures taken to provide support for the participant’s mobility or care needs.

We recommend that where there is any uncertainty or concern about the impact on an individuals’ benefits, a Welfare Rights Advisor is consulted. For longer term pieces of involvement, you may wish to consider providing participants with access to a Welfare Rights Advisor (for example, on retainer) so that individuals’ concerns and circumstances can be considered over time.