Test and trace support payment

You may be eligible if you are required to self-isolate, and if you are working and on a low income and will lose money because you cannot work from home.

If you are self-isolating because you've come home from another country this does not mean you are eligible, you must have a unique Test and Trace number provided by the NHS to qualify, as well as the other criteria listed below. 

To receive this payment, you must:

• have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace after Monday, 28 September 2020 and have a unique Test and Trace number provided by the NHS
• be a Wiltshire resident
• be employed or self-employed
• have lost income by being unable to work from home while self-isolating
• be receiving at least one of the following benefits:
  • Universal Credit
  • Pension Credit
  • Housing Benefit
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
  • Income-based Employment Support Allowance
  • Working Tax Credit

Parents and Guardians

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 self-isolating.

Applicants must meet all the criteria below:

• You 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.
• 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.
• Your 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.

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

• Your National insurance number
• If you are employed, a payslip
• If you are self-employed, evidence of self-assessment returns, trading income and proof that your business delivers services which cannot be undertaken without social contact
• A bank statement for the account you wish the payment to be made to
• Your NHS Test and Trace number, or in the case of a child their NHS Test and Trace ID number, or a communication from the child or young person's education or childcare setting confirming that they have to self-isolate. This is for parents and guardians of children or young people who have been told to self-isolate by their education or childcare setting because they have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive, or a screenshot of a young person's NHS COVID-19 App telling them to self-isolate AND evidence that the young person has an EHC plan.

To apply for a Test and Trace Support Payment, please use online application form.

Alternatively you can apply by calling 0300 456 0110.

You will need to supply supporting documents to confirm the information you provide.

It will normally take up to three days from the date you supply all the evidence needed to verify your claim.

Yes, as long as the applications are for discrete periods of time and do not overlap, a claim can be made for each period of self-isolation required.

All eligibility criteria must be met and supporting evidence provided.

The payment is subject to income tax, but not National Insurance contributions.

If you are not currently in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits, but you:

• have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace after Monday, 28 September 2020 and have a unique Test and Trace number provided by the NHS
• are employed or self-employed
• have lost income by being unable to work from home while self-isolating

You may be eligible for a Discretionary Test and Trace Support Payment, please apply using the online application form.

Alternatively you can apply by calling 0300 456 0110.

Please note you will need to supply supporting documents to confirm the information you provide.

Discretionary Test and Trace Support Payments Policy [48.88KB]

It runs until 30 June 2021, at which point it will be reviewed by the Government.

Please call 0300 456 0110 or email benefits@wiltshire.gov.uk and our team will be happy to help.