Couples navigating work, care and Universal Credit
This report explores the experiences of couples receiving Universal Credit, and how they manage work, finances and child care.
This is the final report from the ESRC-funded study, 'Couples balancing work, money and care: exploring the shifting landscape under Universal Credit', authored by Rita Griffiths, Marsha Wood, Fran Bennett, and Jane Millar.
Based on the lived experience of 90 research participants interviewed in 2018/19, 63 of whom were then interviewed again in 2020, the project examined how couples claiming Universal Credit - with and without dependent children, and in and out of employment - made decisions about work and care and dealt with their household finances. Their first-person accounts offer a unique insight into the experiences of a group of Universal Credit claimants that have, thus far, received too little attention in policy research and discussion.