Administrative / Public Law · Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Paul Faghy
Checked against the judgment on 19 September 2026 · how we verify
Facts
The claimant, Mr Paul Faghy, and his partner Ms Kane moved from Working Tax Credit to Universal Credit, claiming as joint claimants on 8 March 2025. Mr Faghy owns two properties in Hartlepool personally — one let to a long-term tenant, the other let as an Air B&B holiday let — while a third, purchased in November 2024 and being renovated for holiday rental, is owned by Elizabeth George Property Ltd, a company owned equally by him and Ms Kane. On 8 April 2025 a decision maker for the Secretary of State decided that he was not receiving employed or self-employed earnings and so could not be gainfully self-employed for Universal Credit purposes; the company was treated as a property business rather than a trade. That decision was reconsidered but not revised on 21 May 2025. The couple's capital exceeded £16,000, the excess being disregarded for twelve assessment periods under regulation 51 of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014. Neither side sought an oral hearing, and the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) sitting at Chesterfield decided the appeal on the papers on 29 September 2025, allowing it and finding Mr Faghy gainfully self-employed within regulation 64 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013. The Secretary of State appealed with permission granted on 26 January 2026.
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