We know that Coronavirus is impacting peoples’ lives, and we want to provide you with the support you need. The Government wants to do this too and a number of support options have been made available to anyone who has lost their income due to the Coronavirus crisis.
If you received a redundancy notice from your employer after 1st March, 2020, you can now write to them and ask them to withdraw your redundancy and classify you as furloughed. This would allow you 80% of your usual wages, up to £2,500 a month, under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
You may be entitled to Guarantee Pay, which is capped at £145 a month. You may also be able to get Jobseekers Allowance and Universal Credit.
If you are self-employed or run your own business, you can claim a grant through the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme. If you’ve had a trading profit of £50,000 or less in 2018-2019, or an average of under £50,000 from 2016-2019, you’re entitled to 80% of your average monthly profits, up to £2,500 for three months.
You may also be able to claim Universal Credit.
There are a lot of terms being thrown about right now, so we thought we’d bring you the basics of what these benefits mean.
Universal Credit is a new benefit payment for people in or out of work that bundles benefits such as Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Income-based Job-Seeker’s allowance, and Income-related Employment and support allowance.
This program is available to anyone in or out of work, and the government has removed the income floor during the Covid crisis.
To apply, follow the link here. The DWP will work out how much you need to live, based on your circumstances, and then will subtract any income you already have coming in. Click here to calculate what you could be entitled to.
There are three types of Jobseeker’s Allowance:
1. New Style JSA requires you to have been working for a company that makes Class 1 National Insurance contribution in the last 2-3 years. You also need to be over 18, under the pension age, and available to work, though not working at the moment. To find out more, please click here.
2. You’re eligible for Contribution-based JSA if you receive or are entitled to the Severe Disability Premium, or have been in the last month. You will also need to have been working for a company that makes Class 1 National Insurance contribution in the last 2-3 years.
3. Income-based JSA is not effected by your previous employment, and you are entitled to it if you qualify for or receive the Severe Disability Premium, or have in the last month.
If you are made redundant, you are entitled to your usual rate of pay during your notice period, as outlined in your employment contract. Employees with two years service or more are entitled to a Statutory Redundancy Payment. Click here to find out more.
This scheme cannot be applied for yet, but HMRC will contact you if you are eligible. Self-employed people will get 80% of their average monthly profits based on their 2018-2019 tax return, or an average of their 2016-2019 tax returns, so long as annual trading profits were under £50,000. This will be up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for three months. Click here to find out more.
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