How much Universal Credit do I get if I’ve been furloughed? – our welfare expert answers your questions

IF you’re one of the thousands of furloughed workers you may have experienced a sudden drop in income.

Meanwhile, it's possible to apply for extra help in the form of Universal Credit - but how much will you get?

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Our welfare expert Nichola Salvato is on hand to help answer your questions about the new benefits system.

On furlough you get 80 per cent of your wages paid - up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.

It applies to workers who were on a payroll on February 28, and your employer can choose to top up your pay to the full 100 per cent.

But what does this mean for Universal Credit claimants?

Now you have to consider any deduction that might apply for your family.

The deductions could be for earnings, savings or other types of income including some kinds of benefits.

The rules are quite long winded so I will just deal with earned income here.

Your Universal Credit payment will be reduced by 63p for every £1 that you earn (known as the taper rate) over the work allowance.

The work allowance varies based on how many people live in your household and whether you get help with housing costs.

For you, it would be either £512 or £292.

This means anything you earn over this would be subject to the taper rate.

The Sun has been campaigning to increase the work allowance and cut the taper rate as part of our Make Universal Credit Work campaign.

To work out your final payment you need to add up all the elements that would be relevant to you minus the taper rate.

I know that when all this is new to you it can seem very complicated and feel overwhelming at first glance.