A number of you have contacted me about benefit, statutory
sick pay (SSP) and rent support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is clear that during these unprecedented times there are
many people find themselves unexpectedly and suddenly in financial difficulties,
who would not have claimed benefits before, as well as people who are claiming benefits
who are in difficult circumstances in order to meet the government guidelines
on social distancing or self isolation.
I have included summaries of the new measures available to
provide support at this time, below for your convenience:
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.
Sick pay
People who have symptoms or who are self-isolating due to a
member of their household having symptoms can claim for SSP. You can get £94.25
per week Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – your employer may top this up to your usual
wage. It is 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.
SSP start date
We are legislating for SSP to be paid from day 1,
rather than day 4, of your absence from work if you are absent from work due to
sickness or need to stay at home due to COVID-19. Once the legislation has
been passed, this will apply retrospectively from 13 March. You should talk to
your employer if you are eligible for SSP and need to claim.
Proof of sickness
If you have COVID-19 or are advised to stay at
home, you can get an ‘isolation note’ by visiting
NHS 111 online, rather than
visiting a doctor. For COVID-19 cases this replaces the usual need to
provide a ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note’) after 7 days of sickness
absence.
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
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.
Furloughed workers
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.
To qualify for this scheme, you should not undertake work
for them while you are furloughed. 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.
You will remain employed while furloughed. Your employer
could choose to fund the differences between this payment and your usual salary,
but does not have to.
We intend for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to run
for at least 3 months from 1 March 2020, but will extend if necessary.
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 we are 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. 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
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
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.
The Government has also announced a radical package of
measures to protect tenants and landlords affected by coronavirus.
- Emergency
legislation to suspend new evictions from social or private rented
accommodation while this national emergency is taking place
- No
new possession proceedings through applications to the court to start
during the crisis
- Landlords
will also be protected as 3 month mortgage payment holiday is extended to
Buy to Let mortgages
The government has announced a radical package of measures
to protect tenants and landlords affected by coronavirus. As a result, no renting
either social or private accommodation will be forced out of their home during
this difficult time.
Emergency legislation will be taken forward as an urgent
priority so that landlords will not be able to start proceedings to evict
tenants for at least a 3 month period. As a result of these measures, no one
renting private or social accommodation needs to be concerned about the threat
of eviction.
Recognising the additional pressures the virus may put on
landlords, we have confirmed that the 3 month mortgage payment holiday
announced yesterday will be extended to landlords whose tenants are
experiencing financial difficulties due to coronavirus. This will alleviate the
pressure on landlords, who will be concerned about meeting mortgage payments
themselves, and will mean no unnecessary pressure is put on their tenants as a
result.
At the end of this period, landlords and tenants will be
expected to work together to establish an affordable repayment plan, taking
into account tenants’ individual circumstances.
To support this announcement the government has worked with
the Master of the Rolls to widen the ‘pre-action protocol’ on possession
proceedings, to include private renters and to strengthen its remit. This will
support the necessary engagement between landlords and tenants to resolve
disputes and landlords will have to reach out to tenants to understand the
financial position they are in.
The government will also issue guidance which asks landlords
to show compassion and to allow tenants who are affected by this to remain in
their homes wherever possible. The National Housing Federation and Local
Government Association have welcomed the new support for social renters and
made clear that no one should be evicted because of the coronavirus.
This important step on buy to let mortgages ensures parity
of support, further to the announcement yesterday that the government made for
private mortgage holders.
We are also announcing that those who have benefited from a
government backed Help to Buy equity loan will be offered interest payment
holidays if they are struggling to pay due to coronavirus.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP said:
The government is clear – no renter who has lost income due
to coronavirus will be forced out of their home, nor will any landlord face
unmanageable debts.
These are extraordinary times and renters and landlords
alike are of course worried about paying their rent and mortgage. Which is
why we are urgently introducing emergency legislation to protect tenants in
social and private accommodation from an eviction process being started.
These changes will protect all renters and private landlords
ensuring everyone gets the support they need at this very difficult time.
Council Tax support:
The
Head of Revenue and Benefits at Cornwall Council has issued a statement
regarding people who experience difficulties with paying their council tax
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Can I encourage anyone with concerns to contact the council
direct at 0300 1234 171 or use the dedicated Cornwall Council email address
covid19@cornwall.gov.uk
'We understand that some residents who normally pay by direct
debit may struggle over the coming months. We would encourage anyone who is
struggling to pay their council tax to contact us immediately to discuss their
payments and their method of payments.
There are a number of options we can assist them with, including
re-profiling their debt or providing extra financial assistance through our
Council Tax Support Scheme or additional discretionary hardship scheme.
The resident always has the choice about how they pay their
council tax and whilst we encourage direct debit as it is the easiest and most
cost effective option for the Council, the resident can choose to change this
method to something easier and more appropriate for them and their
circumstances.
The key message is that the Revenues Team are here to assist
through this difficult period and to assist with short term financial
difficulties of any resident of Cornwall.'
There is more to come and the ways in which help, and support is
delivered onto the front line will be rolled out as a matter of urgency. I am
doing all I can to ensure that come the day we are through this, everyone will
have received the support they need at this difficult time.
Please be assured I am very much aware of your concerns and will
continue to press the case and look forward to the government coming forward
with plans to support all in the coming days.
If
you have any further questions or have any difficulty in access the support
available, please do not hesitate to contact me.
