MUIR RESIDENTS - YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR £500 COVID-19 SELF-ISOLATION PAYMENT
A NEW £500 payment is available for people on low incomes or receiving benefits who self-isolate because of COVID-19.
The Test and Trace support payment is to help people who may have previously struggled to self-isolate due to financial constraints.
Payable by local authorities in one lump sum, the payment is available to those meeting the eligibility criteria below:
To be eligible for the Test and Trace support payment, an individual must:
- Have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace either because they've tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive;
- Be employed or self-employed;
- Be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result; and
- Be currently receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit.
You will not be eligible for the scheme if you:
- Are quarantining after travelling abroad (unless you test positive during the 14-day quarantine period).
- Continue to receive full wages while you self-isolate.
- Can work from home during a period of self-isolation.
- Are no longer required to self-isolate i.e. your period of self-isolation ended before the Self-Isolation Payment Scheme launched (28 September 2020).
- Have not received a notification from NHS Test and Trace telling you to self-isolate.
- Have to stay at home to look after a child who has to self-isolate.
You can apply on your local authority’s website, or by phoning them directly.
You will need:
- A notification from NHS Test and Trace asking you to self-isolate (this will include a Unique ID number)
- A bank statement and
- Proof of employment, or, if you are self-employed, evidence of self-assessment returns, trading income and proof that your business delivers services which cannot be undertaken without social contact.
More details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-package-to-support-and-enforce-self-isolation