The Test and Trace Support payment of £500 ensures those on low incomes can self-isolate without having to worry about their finances.
To be eligible, you must:
- Have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because you’ve tested positive for COVID-19 or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.
- 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.
- Be employed or self-employed.
- Be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result.
The video below provides helpful information about how to claim the NHS Test and Trace support payment.
Discretionary Test and Trace Support Payment
If you are not receiving one of the qualifying benefits, but you are on a low income and unable to support yourself financially during your self-isolation you may be entitled to help with a discretionary payment.
To be eligible for a discretionary payment you must:
- Have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because you’ve tested positive for COVID-19 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.
In addition, Tandridge District Council have agreed the following discretionary criteria will be taken into account when considering applications for considered when
- You have made a claim for 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 it is likely that this claim will be successful;
- You are a person from abroad who are excluded from claiming benefits but meet all the other statutory and discretionary criteria;
- Your gross annual income is less than £20,000 a year (£385 per week), although consideration will be given for higher annual incomes if the Council is provided with a suitable justification that is in the spirit of the grant;
- Your employer must confirm that because of your isolation you will lose pay.
- If you are self-employed, the self-employment must clearly be of the nature where you cannot work from home;
- You do not have capital exceeding £6,000.
Read the Council’s Test and Trace Discretionary Payment Policy.
Parents and Guardians Test and Trace Support Payment
From 8 March 2021, parents or guardians who are not legally required to self-isolate can apply for a Test and Trace Support Payment or discretionary payment if they need to take time off work to care for a child or young person who is.
Applicants must meet all the criteria below:
- They are the parent or guardian of a child or 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 child or young person’s self-isolation period.
- They are employed or self-employed.
- They cannot work from home while undertaking caring responsibilities and will lose income as a result.
- They meet all the other means-tested eligibility criteria for a Test and Trace Support Payment or locally determined criteria for a discretionary payment.
- Their child or young person:
- Is aged 15 or under (or 25 or under with an Education, Health and Care Plan(EHC) and normally attends an education or childcare setting.
- Has been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or by their education or childcare setting because they have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
To claim a payment either under the standard scheme, the discretionary scheme or the parent/guardian scheme, you need to complete and submit our Test and Trace Support Payment form. To complete the form you will need your:
- Council Tax account number.
- NHS unique ID number (which you'll receive if you test positive).
- Proof of entitlement to a qualifying benefit.
- Name and address of employer, or proof of a self-assessment if self-employed.
- A recent bank statement showing your account details and your name and address.
- Confirmation from your child’s education or childcare setting that they have been told to self-isolate because they have been a close contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.
Once we have received your form and all supporting evidence, you will be informed of the outcome within three working days and, if applicable, the payment will then be made.