Gordon Bowen v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (UC): [2026] UKUT 224 (AAC)

Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision by Judge Wikeley on 15 June 2026.

• From: HM Courts & Tribunals Service and Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)
• Published: 13 July 2026

• Categories: Earnings and other income and Universal Credit
• Sub-categories: Earnings and other income - calculation: employed, Universal Credit - Sanctions and Universal Credit - Other
• Judges: Wikeley, N
• Decision date: 15 June 2026

Read the full decision in UA-2025-000781-USTA.

Judicial Summary

This appeal concerned the rules governing the calculation of the Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) in the universal credit (UC) regime. The DWP decision-maker and the First-tier Tribunal both decided that a claimant’s “monthly earnings” for the purposes of calculating their AET involved the deduction of pension contributions. The claimant appealed to the Upper Tribunal, which decided that “monthly earnings” are the person’s earned income before any deductions are made for income tax, national insurance contributions or pension contributions. This appeal involved consideration of regulations 55, 90 and 99 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013.

Published 13 July 2026