MOST people who become unemployed will soon have to wait weeks before they get any benefit payments, a TUC report revealed yesterday. 

The TUC said small print in universal credit rules stipulated that people losing their jobs would not be eligible for any help for a week and would then have to wait a further month for their benefits.

It said the scheme was a “new and deliberate delay” which could distract new claimants from looking for work and drive them into the hands of loan sharks.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “While it is right to deal with people who abuse the system, the government is now undermining the welfare safety net that any of us might need. 

“Making people who have contributed all their lives — but who are simply unlucky enough to lose their jobs — wait five weeks before receiving any help is both cruel and vindictive.”