Coronavirus Isolation Payments

Please note - The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme in England has now closed. If you were told to self-isolate before the 24th  February 2022, the last date to submit your application form was the 6th April 2022. 

If you have an outstanding claim – please ensure you have provided all of the evidence listed below, before the 24th April 2022, for us to be able to make a decision on your entitlement.

  • Your eight digit test and trace account ID. This will be issued after registering the result of a positive P.C.R and engaging in the test & Trace process.  If you have not been issued with this number, we will not be able to make a payment. 
  • If you are claiming as your child has tested positive and you are taking time off work to care for them, please provide their eight digit account i.d, along with your code if you have been issued with one.
  • If employed, proof from your employer that as a result of self-isolating your earnings have decreased – this can be an email from your employer or a payslip showing the reduction for your isolation period.
  • If self-employed, your last self-employed tax return.
  • To ensure any entitlement is paid to the correct bank account, please provide a recent statement, showing your bank account name, account number and sort code. 
  • If you are claiming through our Discretionary scheme – an income and expenditure form. 

 

The following guidance applies to all claims where there was a legal duty to self-isolate and you were notified of this prior to the 24th February 2022 and submitted your claim before the 6th April 2022. 

When it comes to Covid-19, we all know that ensuring self-isolation is one of our most powerful tools for controlling transmission. 

However, we also know that the need to self-isolate can cause financial pressures for those on low incomes and the self employed. As a result of this the Government is providing a Test and Trace Support Payment of a £500 lump sum payment for those on low incomes to support them if they cannot work during their self-isolation period. 

Please note – to be eligible for this scheme due to a positive result, your application can only be considered from a positive P.C.R test and engagement with the Test & Trace process.  We cannot consider applications using the result of a positive lateral flow test. 

To be eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment, you must: 

  • have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app because you have tested positive for COVID 19 – Please note: you will only be contacted by NHS Test and Trace after a positive P.C.R result. 

Or

  • have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app because you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive, are not fully vaccinated / are not exempt from self-isolation
  • have responded to a message from NHS Test and Trace and provided any legally required information, such as details of close contacts.
  • 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.

Test and Trace Support Discretionary payments, will be for individuals who are told to self-isolate on or after 28 September 2020 and who meet the relevant eligibility criteria and in addition:

  • Are not 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; and 
  • Are on low incomes and will face financial hardship as a result of not being able to work while they are self-isolating

Individuals who are required to self-isolate and who meet the eligibility criteria will be entitled to £500. This will be payable as a lump sum.

These payments will be subject to income tax. They will not be subject to National Insurance contributions.

You will be able to make an application to your local Council from the 12 October 2020. Individuals who are required to self-isolate from 28 September will be able to apply and request that the payment be backdated to 28 September 2020.  This is the date that the Government is introducing the Test and Trace Support Payment.  No claim can be backdated beyond the 28 September 2020.

You must have been advised on or after 28 September 2020 to isolate in order to be eligible for the payment.

  • A notification from NHS Test and Trace asking them to self-isolate (this will include a Unique ID number) Please note – this will only be issued after logging the results of a positive P.C.R result and engaging in the Test & Trace process Or after engaging as a close contact who is not fully vaccinated.
  • A bank statement to ensure any entitlement is paid to the correct account.
  • Proof of employment, or, if they are self-employed, evidence of self-assessment returns, trading income and proof that their business delivers services which cannot be undertaken without social contact
  • Proof of receipt of one of the following benefits
    • Universal Credit
    • Working Tax Credit
    • Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
    • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
    • Income Support
    • Housing Benefit 
    • Pension Credit

If applying due to a child/young person self-isolating:

  • the child’s eight-digit NHS Test and Trace ID number, or
  • evidence of the young person’s NHS COVID-19 App/NHS Test and Trace  notification telling them to self-isolate AND evidence that the young person has an Education, Health and Care Plan. This is for parents or guardians of young people aged under 25 who have additional support needs and who have been notified to self-isolate by the NHS COVID-19 App/NHS Test and Trace.

The scheme has now ended.  If you were told to self-isolate before the 24th  February 2022, you can still make a claim within 42 days of the first day of self-isolation and no later than 6th April 2022.

Some individuals could be asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace more than once.

Someone can claim more than once (if they are told to self-isolate multiple times), as long as they meet the eligibility criteria for each individual claim and their periods of self-isolation do not overlap.

We will aim to notify our banking team to issue a payment to individuals within 3 working days of their final piece of evidence being verified by our team – this will take up to 3 working days from issue before being paid to the relevant account. 

People in the same household can each make an individual application to receive the payment, if they each meet the eligibility criteria.

Parents and guardians who are not legally required to self-isolate can make one application per household for the young person’s self-isolation period.

  • You are the parent or guardian (including those fully vaccinated) of a young person in the same household and need to take time off work to care for them while they self-isolate. This is limited to one parent or guardian per household for the young person’s self-isolation period.
  • You are employed or self-employed.
  • You cannot work from home while undertaking caring responsibilities and will lose income as a result. You meet all the other means-tested eligibility criteria for a Test and Trace Support Payment or locally determined criteria for a discretionary payment.
  • The young person:
    • Has tested positive for COVID-19 (from a PCR Test) and is aged 15 or under, or aged 25 or under with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan; or
    • Has been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 (BY NHS Test and Trace, or the NHS COVID-19 app), is aged 25 and under, is not fully vaccinated/not exempt from self-isolation and has an EHC Plan.
    • Please note you will only be contacted by Test & Trace after responding to a message as the result of a positive P.C.R test.

You must apply within 42 days from the start of your self-isolation period.

Make a claim