Benefits team Christmas opening hours
Our Benefits team will be closed for Bank Holidays over the Christmas period. They will be closed on Wednesday 25 December 2024, Thursday 26 December 2024, and Wednesday 1 January 2025.
Normal opening hours apply outside of the Bank Holidays.
Use this service to tell us about a change in your circumstances, and upload supporting evidence.
To set up your online account, you will need your:
- Title
- Last name
- National Insurance number
- Date of birth
- Postcode
- Current claim reference number
You can find your claim reference number under your address on any letters that we have sent you about your claim. View our example letter to see where it is.
Manage your Benefits claim online
Once you create or sign in to your account, use the following services (at a time that suits you) to:
- Tell us about a change in circumstances
- Upload evidence to support your claim, or a change in circumstances
Uploading evidence to support your claim
If you are making a new claim, completing a claim review, or informing us of a change in your circumstances, you need to upload evidence to prove the change to us.
Select the appropriate circumstances below to see any evidence you will need to upload.
If someone has moved into or out of your household, you need to provide proof, which could be a birth or death certificate, or proof that a partner has moved out. It could also be a tenancy agreement or Council tax bill with the other person named on it.
If you, your partner or other adults in your household are working, you will need to tell us about any changes to income, employment status or working hours, and you will need to provide payslips (five weekly or two monthly payslips).
For a new job, you will need to provide a letter from your employer confirming your hourly rate and contractual hours until your wage slips are available (we don't accept hand-written wage slips). We don't need to know about this for boarders, subtenants, or joint tenants.
If you, your partner, or other adults in your household are self-employed, you can tell us about a change through our online form.
We need to see evidence of all other income, including benefits, pension and money you or your partner may receive from board and lodgings (this does not include payments you receive from your adult children). We don't need to know about this for boarders, subtenants or joint tenants.
Evidence to support this can include any of the following:
- Benefit award letters
- Pension statements
- Tenancy agreement
- Bank statements
We need to know about any savings, investments or capital (such as property) you or partner have. If your savings, investments or capital have changed, you need to provide bank statements showing transactions for the last two months (including all current accounts used for everyday living expenses, even if overdrawn).
We need to see proof of the following:
- Building society or Post Office account
- Premium Bonds
- National Savings Certificates
- ISAs
- Stocks, shares and unit trusts
- Property or land ownership details, including mortgage details is applicable.
We will accept printed online statements, as long as they state the account number and show full transactions.
If child care costs or your contributions into a private pension scheme have changed, you need to provide evidence of these expenses, such as an invoice from a registered childcare provider or a pension statement.
If you are a parent or guardian of a full-time student and you provide them with financial assistance, we need to see evidence, such as a bank statement showing payments made.
If the amount of rent you pay, or where you live has changed, you need to provide evidence of rent. You need to provide a signed tenancy agreement, up-to-date rent book or a letter from your landlord confirming your current rent and frequency.
If there is any change to how you (or your landlord) would like to be paid, please provide details, including proof that the bank account is yours or your landlords. Evidence can include a bank statement or tenancy agreement.
Need to see someone?
From the 7th June 2021 we can offer face to face appointments for those who have in-depth benefit enquires or may have difficulties using our online facilities.
For more information please speak to a Benefits Assessor by calling 01225 47 72 77.