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Petition · past parliament · Department for Work and Pensions

Treat research students in receipt of a stipend as in work for UC.

Closed 263 signatures

What the petition asks

At the moment Post-Graduate Research students (PhD or equivalent) are treated as not working when they apply for Universal Credit (UC) .This means for every pound of their Research stipend their UC award is reduced by a pound. It also means that they cannot claim other costs, eg childcare.
Post Graduate students were seen as essential workers during the pandemic. However, the Department of Work and Pensions deems them to be students and not working. Thus while they receive a stipend for their efforts, this comes straight off any entitlement to Universal Credit. This mainly affects post-grad students with children. If their stipend is regarded as payment for work, they would not lose all their stipend and they could also claim travel expenses and 85% of their childcare costs.

Timeline

14 Jul 2021 Petition opened for signatures
14 Jan 2022 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 263
Status Closed
Department Department for Work and Pensions
Opened 14 Jul 2021
Closed 14 Jan 2022

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.