People who live in Hart will be entitled to a self-isolation payment providing they:

• Have been instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because they've tested positive or are the close contact of a positive case
• Are employed or self-employed
• Are unable to work from home and will lose income as a result
• Are 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, ie your period of self-isolation ended before the Self-Isolation Payment Scheme launched on 28 September 2020
• Have not received a notification from NHS Test and Trace telling you to self-isolate

 

• First, make sure you meet all the criteria for receiving a payment
• Applications for a payment must be made within 14 days of the end of the self-isolation period
• Then, if you do meet the criteria, complete the five-minute application form at the end of this page
• You will then receive email/SMS confirmation whether you fulfill the criteria for the payment or not
• If you will be receiving the grant, you will receive details of how and when you can expect the payment

 

• The 8 digit reference number you were given by NHS Test and Trace
• Your National Insurance number
• A bank statement showing your account number and sort code
• Proof of employment such as a pay slip, self assessment return or trading income

 

• Individuals will receive this payment on top of any Statutory Sick Pay or benefits they receive
• Currently individuals in employment who are self-isolating and cannot work from home are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if they earn more than £120 a week from a single employer
• Depending on their circumstances, they might also be able to claim Universal Credit and/ or new style Employment and Support Allowance

 

• Individuals who are required to self-isolate and who meet the benefits-linked 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

 

• The scheme will run until 31 January 2021

 

• These changes came into effect on 28 September 2020, alongside the legal duty to self-isolate. The application system went live on our website from 11 October. Residents will be able to claim retrospectively, as long as their period of self-isolation began on or after 28 September. We will not be able to accept applications from people told to self-isolate before 28 September, even if the period of self-isolation continues after 28 September.

 

• 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.

 

• Eligible individuals can make a claim up to 14 days after their period of self-isolation ended. Hart District Council will not be able to accept applications after this point.

 

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

• These changes came into effect on 28 September 2020, alongside the legal duty to self-isolate
• The application system went live on our website on 12 October 2020; individuals who are eligible prior to that date can make a backdated claim

• You can help someone else fill out an application, or fill out an application on their behalf
• However, you cannot receive payments on behalf of someone else
• Payments will only be made to the person who has been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace

• No, banks are not allowed to use your self isolation grant or any other benefit to repay an overdraft. You can protect your self isolation grant by writing to your bank. This protection is called a 'first right of appropriation of funds order'. You will need to tell your bank how to use these payments.
• You will need to write to your bank at least seven days before the self isolation grant is due, making it clear what this money can be used for, for example your rent, electricity bill and water rates. Keep a copy of the letter in case there is any dispute later. You may want to ask your bank/building society for a written acknowledgement of your instructions. If there are any items you no longer want to pay from your account, or which you cannot afford, you should give your bank separate cancellation instructions. The first right of appropriation does not stop the bank paying items as well as those you have listed. If you do not cancel these items, your bank may return the items as unpaid, which they may charge you for. However, payments from your account to repay a loan with the same bank cannot be cancelled.