To ask Her Majesty's Government what continuous financial support they plan to provide to vulnerable people who are unable to return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered on
4 June 2020
Employers are able to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which will help them to continue paying part of their employees’ wages if they would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis. The Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) scheme has also been extended to strengthen the safety net for vulnerable people where employers have chosen not to make use of CJRS. SSP is now payable from the first day of sickness absence, rather than the fourth, to those required to self-isolate because they, or someone in their household, has symptoms of COVID-19. SSP is now also payable to individuals identified as clinically extremely vulnerable who have been advised to stay at home (known as shielding) and to anyone who has had close contact with someone who has tested positive and are being asked to self-isolate.
Any worker not eligible for SSP may be able to claim Universal Credit or New Style Employment and Support Allowance.