When you receive benefits, whether it’s Job Seeker’s Allowance, Tax Credits or something else, it’s likely that you’ll rely on these payments to get by. Benefits are there to help those who have a low or no income from other places, due to illness, injury or circumstance. Tax credits are given to those with children and there are many ways of receiving help from the government if you fall into one of the many categories. For families and households that rely on benefit payments over bank holidays, it can be worrying when the payment date has to change. Days in which the banks are not open can affect when your payment comes through, and for that reason bank holidays can be something of a worry, particularly when there are two in a row during Easter.
This year, Easter Friday falls on Friday 3rd April and Easter Monday is Monday 6th. Both days are bank holidays and so if you are expecting a payment on either of these days, it won’t be coming through. However, this has been accounted for and your benefits will be paid on the working day before the bank holiday. This means that: • If you are due a payment on Friday 3rd April then you will be paid on Thursday 2nd April • If you are due a payment on Monday 6th April then you will be paid on Thursday 2nd April There are also two bank holidays coming up in May – one at the beginning and one at the end. These will also affect your benefit payments if they’re due around this time. • If you are due a payment on Monday 4th May then you will be paid on Friday 1st May • If you are due a payment on Monday 25th May then you will be paid on Friday 22nd May If you have any Direct Debit payments or similar coming out of your account automatically during this time, then these may also change to accommodate the bank holidays. Many people use this method of payment to pay for utility bills and credit instalments. You should check with the company or the person you are paying which dates these will be moved to. This way, you can keep track of your incomings and outgoings around this busy time and make changes if you need to.