by Our News Desk

A MILLION low-paid workers are being urged today to claim tax credits that they’re owed before the government’s new welfare reforms kick in, otherwise they could lose thousands of pounds.

Universal Credit, which is being gradually rolled out across Britain, brings several benefits and tax credits together under one umbrella.

The government claims nobody will be worse off as a result of universal credit’s introduction.

However, cuts to work allowance — the amount someone can earn before losing their entitlement to universal credit — come into force today.

This means a lone parent will have to earn no more than £4,764 to be eligible, almost halving the current threshold of £8,808.

Public-sector union Unison and benefit experts Entitledto are now calling on Britain’s one million low-paid workers who have yet to apply for tax credits to check whether they are entitled to them.

Eligible workers who don’t claim tax credits before universal credit arrives in their town or city will be much worse off, Unison and Entitledto warn.

This is because the government has promised to protect claimants’ in-work benefits after the introduction of universal credit, but tax credits cannot be claimed once that has happened.

A couple aged over 25 earning £7.20 an hour and working 30 hours a week is £53.86 a week better off under working tax credit than they would be under universal credit, Unison said.

This means that, over a five-year period — the timescale in which universal credit is being rolled out — an individual would receive an extra £14,000 in payments.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Last year, huge pressures on the Chancellor forced him to abandon the harsh changes to tax credits that had been due to come in today.

“But the cuts to universal credit didn’t disappear, and will still mean financial hardship for many people on low incomes.

“But if low-paid workers sign up to tax credits, not only will they be better off now, their income will also be protected in future, unless there is a significant change in their circumstances.”

Entitledto has created a tax credits take-up calculator tool to help workers find out whether they’re eligible for tax credits.

The group’s director Dr Phil Agulnik said: “Once the full universal credit service comes to a jobcentre near them, residents won’t be allowed to apply for tax credits.

“If someone is eligible they need to claim now before it’s too late.”