Update on sick pay, workers pay, Universal Credit and renters support.
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Sick pay
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.
This will start from Day, not Day 4, and will be backdated to 13th March 2020
To check:
https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay
For Proof of Sickness go to:
https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/
Furloughed Workers
Please read what employers will undertake on this blog as the employers will discuss this with you.
If you’re self-employed or not eligible for SSP
If you are not eligible for SSP – for example if you are self-employed or earning below the Lower Earnings Limit of £118 per week – and you have COVID-19 or are advised to stay at home, you can now more easily make a claim for Universal Credit or new style Employment and Support Allowance.
If you are eligible for new style Employment and Support Allowance, it will now be payable from day 1 of sickness, rather than day 8, if you have COVID-19 or are advised to stay at home.
Universal Credit Help Line – 0800 328 5644 – https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit
New Style Allowance – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance
Claiming benefits
Whether you are currently in or out of work, if you are on a low income and affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19, you will be able to access the full range of the welfare system, including Universal Credit.
From 6 April the standard allowance in Universal Credit and the basic element in Working Tax Credit for 1 year are being increased by £20 per week on top of planned annual uprating. This will apply to all new and existing Universal Credit claimants and to existing Working Tax Credit claimants.
If you have COVID-19 or are staying at home
You are now able to claim Universal Credit, and if required can access advance payments upfront without needing to attend a jobcentre.
If you are self-employed
You are able to claim Universal Credit, providing you meet the usual eligibility criteria.
To support you with the economic impact of the outbreak, and allow you to follow government guidance on self-isolation and social distancing, 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 jobcentre to demonstrate gainful self-employment.
Support for rent costs
Landlords need to read Mortgage Payment Holidays. Rental customers should check eligibility for Universal Credit, which is available for people in and out of work. Support for rental costs will be paid through Universal Credit.
From April, we are 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.
General advice worth repeating. Staying at home
If you have symptoms of coronavirus infection (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for 7 days from when your symptoms started.
If you live with others and you are the first in the household to have symptoms of coronavirus, then you must stay at home for 7 days, but all other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.
See guidance on this through this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance