1. FURLOUGHED WORKERS

Scheme:

If your employer cannot cover staff costs due to COVID-19, they may be able to access support to continue paying part of your wage, to avoid redundancies.

If your employer intends to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, they will discuss with you becoming classified as a furloughed worker. This would mean that you are kept on your employer’s payroll, rather than being laid off. This will allow your employer to claim a grant of up to 80% of your wage for all employment costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will run for at least 3 months from 1 March 2020, but can extend if necessary.

Eligibility:

To qualify for this scheme, you should not undertake work for them while you are furloughed. You will remain employed while furloughed. Your employer could choose to fund the differences between this payment and your salary, but does not have to.

How to access:

• Employer have to notify employees of this change of status as ‘furloughed workers.
• Employer will submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal. (HMRC will set out further details on the information required).

2. SICK PAY

Scheme:

You can get £94.25 per week Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you’re too ill to work. It’s paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks. If you are staying at home because of COVID-19 you can now claim SSP. This includes individuals who are caring for people in the same household and therefore have been advised to do a household quarantine.

Government is legislating for SSP to be paid from day 1, rather than day 4, legislation will apply retrospectively from 13 March.

If evidence is required by an employer, those with symptoms of coronavirus can get an isolation note from NHS 111 online, and those who live with someone that has symptoms can get a note from the NHS website

Eligibility:

To qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) you must:

• be classed as an employee and have done some work for your employer
• have been ill for at least 4 days in a row (including non-working days)
• earn an average of at least £118 per week
• tell your employer you’re sick before their deadline – or within 7 days if they do not have one

How to access:

To claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), tell your employer by their deadline (or within 7 days if they do not have one).

3. LAY-OFFS AND SHORT-TIME WORKING

Scheme:

A lay-off is if you’re off work for at least 1 working day. Short-time working is when your hours are cut. Your employer can ask you to stay at home or take unpaid leave if there’s not enough work for you.

Lay-off pay entitlement & Guarantee pay

You should get your full pay unless your contract allows unpaid or reduced pay lay-offs. If you’re unpaid, you’re entitled to guarantee pay.

Employees are entitled to guarantee pay during lay off or short-time working. The maximum you can get is £29 a day for 5 days in any 3-month period – so a maximum of £145. If you work part-time, your entitlement is worked out proportionally.

Redundancy Pay

You could apply for redundancy and claim redundancy pay if you’ve been laid off without pay or put on short-time and receive less than half a week’s pay for:

• 4 or more weeks in a row
• 6 or more weeks in a 13-week period

Eligibility:

Lay-off pay entitlement & Guarantee pay

You can be eligible for lay off payment if you must:

• have been employed continuously for 1 month (includes part-time workers)
• reasonably make sure you’re available for work
• not refuse any reasonable alternative work (including work not in your contract)
• not have been laid off because of industrial action

Redundancy Pay

There’s no limit for how long you can be laid off or put on short-time. You could apply for redundancy and claim redundancy pay if it’s been:

• 4 weeks in a row
• 6 weeks in a 13-week period

How to access:

Lay-off pay entitlement & Guarantee pay

Your employer will contact you in case of lay-off.

Redundancy Pay

You must resign to get redundancy pay. The timing is crucial – you have 3 weeks to hand in your notice, starting from:

• 7 days after you gave written notice to your employer (if you did not get a counter-notice
• the date your employer withdrew their counter-notice

1. CLAIMING BENEFITS (UNIVERSAL CREDIT)

Scheme:

If you have COVID-19 or are advised to stay at home, you can now more easily make a claim for Universal Credit. From 6 April the requirements of the Minimum Income Floor will be temporarily relaxed. This change will apply to all Universal Credit claimants and will last for the duration of the outbreak.

New claimants will not need to attend the job center to demonstrate gainful self-employment. From 6 April government is increasing the standard allowance in Universal Credit and the basic element in Working Tax Credit for 1 year. Both will increase by £20 per week on top of planned annual uprating.

Further, you are now able to claim Universal Credit, and if required can access advance payments upfront without needing to attend a job center.

Eligibility:

You will be eligible to get Universal Credit if:

• you’re on a low income or out of work
• you’re 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17)
• you’re under State Pension age (or your partner is)
• you and your partner have £16,000 or less in savings between you
• you live in the UK

How to access:

New claims: Use following link to apply online (https://www.universal-credit.service.gov.uk/postcode-checker)

Existing claims: If you are existing claimant and have affected by COVID-19, you have to report changes in circumstances on your online portal.

2. SUPPORT FOR RENT COSTS

Scheme:

From April 2020, Government is increasing Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This applies to all private renters who are new or existing Universal Credit housing element claimants and to existing Housing Benefit claimants.

Eligibility:

You will be able to get Housing support if:

• you’re on a low income or out of work
• you’re under State Pension age (or your partner is)
• you and your partner have £16,000 or less in savings between you
• you live in the UK

How to access:

New claims: Use following link to apply online

(https://www.universal-credit.service.gov.uk/postcode-checker)

Existing claims: If you are existing claimant and have affected by COVID-19, you have to report changes in circumstances on your online portal.

3. EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE (ESA)

Scheme:

You can apply for ESA if you’re employed, self-employed or unemployed.

Most new claims are for ‘new style’ ESA. To get ‘new style’ ESA you need to have both: worked as an employee or been self-employed or paid enough National Insurance contributions in the last 2 to 3 years – National Insurance credits also count.

You cannot get ‘new style’ ESA if you’re getting Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from an employer. You can apply for ‘new style’ ESA up to 3 months before your SSP ends. You’ll start getting ‘new style’ ESA as soon as your SSP ends.

You could get Universal Credit at the same time or instead of ‘new style’ ESA. Universal Credit can help with, for example, your housing and childcare costs.

Eligibility:

You can apply for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if you’re under State Pension age and you have a disability or health condition that affects how much you can work. You can apply whether you’re in or out of work. There are conditions to working while claiming ESA.

You cannot get ESA at the same time as:

• Statutory Sick Pay
• Statutory Maternity Pay
• Jobseeker’s Allowance

You can check eligibility here: https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/eligibility

How to access:

Universal Credit helpline

Telephone: 0800 328 5644 (choose option 2)

Textphone: 0800 328 1344 (choose option 2)

Jobcentre Plus

Telephone: 0800 169 0350

Textphone: 0800 023 4888

4. NEW ENTERPRISE ALLOWANCE

Scheme:

If you are starting or running your own business, you may be able to get New Enterprise Allowance to help you:

Starting new business

You could get mentoring and an allowance to help you start your own business through New Enterprise Allowance. You’ll get a mentor who’ll give you advice and support to help you set up your business and start to trade. Once you’ve made a business plan that your mentor has approved, you may get a weekly allowance worth up to £1,274 over 26 weeks or you can apply for a loan to help with start-up costs.

Developing your business

If you’re self-employed and getting Universal Credit, you may be able to:

• get a mentor who’ll give you advice and support to help you develop your business
• apply for a start-up loan if your business is less than 2 years old

Eligibility:

You or your partner get Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.

To find out if you’re eligible for New Enterprise Allowance, contact your work coach by signing in to your Universal Credit account.

How to access:

Talk to your work coach at Jobcentre Plus or work coach by signing in to your Universal Credit account.

5. FREE SCHOOL MEALS

Scheme:

Government has announced support for pupils who have to stay at home if they/or a family member are affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) or school is only open for certain groups or is closed temporarily. Government has asked schools to continue to provide free school meals through following sources:

• an in-house catering team
• a local authority catering service
• a private catering provider
• using other local initiatives – this could be a local school acting as a community hub, or a local charity
• providing families with supermarket vouchers

Eligibility:

Pupils who are eligible and currently in receipt of free school meals, and vouchers should be made available to the parent or the adult with caring responsibility for that child.

How to access:

You have to contact your school for free school meals.

We will continue to share the most up to date information directly with you as it becomes. If you want to discuss above mentioned measures please don’t hesitate to contact us.