HOLYROOD has been forced to cancel a traditional festive boost for staff because of fears it could lose them benefits.
The Scottish Parliament normally pays the salaries of all 1400 staff and MSPs on the second last day of the month, but in December it is brought forward to before Christmas.
However this year, the roll-out of Universal Credit (UC) has put a stop to that.
Holyrood bosses have warned all staff they will paid on December 28 to avoid anyone starting a UC claim next month missing out because of the date change.
The concern is that both their November and December salaries could end up being paid within the same “assessment period”, potentially costing them all their UC for December.
An email sent to workers said: “We have around 1,400 people on the payroll and it is almost certain that there would be a number of people in receipt of UC and whose benefits could have been affected with an early December payroll.”
Staff are now being offered an advance of up to £500 on their salaries instead.
UC, which bundles together six working age benefits and is designed to help the unemployed and low paid, has been beset with problems, including long delays, under-financing and unintended consequences.
SNP MSP Richard Lyle MSP, who raised staff concerns with the parliament, said: “Christmas can be a really challenging time, with huge extra costs for households.
“Employers should have the flexibility to help their staff out. But a welfare system which works against this and could put people's incomes at risk is clearly broken.
"This is a reminder - extremely close to home - of the inflexibility of this failed policy."
A Holyrood spokesperson said: “The Scottish Parliament’s overriding concern is to be sure nobody loses out financially.”
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