Coronavirus Employees' Help
Full info on sick pay, WFH tax relief, and the now-closed furlough scheme
After a year and a half the furlough scheme – where employees could receive up to 80% of their wage subsidised by state funds if they couldn't work because of the pandemic or lockdown – has now closed. For your reference, we've kept information in this guide about how furlough worked whilst it was running. The guide also sets out what help is STILL available for employees, such as statutory sick pay and working-from-home tax support.
The furlough scheme came to a close on 30 September. All of the information throughout this guide about how the scheme worked whilst it was running – between March 2020 and September 2021 – has been kept in place for reference.
For other support for employees affected by coronavirus, including your rights if you are ill with coronavirus or need to take time off to look after relatives who catch it, see our Sick Pay guide.
Need more help? We've got other useful guides...
Redundancy rights – you've certain rights if your job is at risk.
Benefits checker – see what you might be entitled to.
Working from home tax relief - check if you can claim.
Coronavirus travel rights for the latest on rules and refunds.
Now CLOSED. Furlough ended on 30 Sept – how the scheme worked
You can still get statutory sick pay from day one
If you need to take time off work due to becoming unwell from coronavirus, you'll be entitled to your usual sick leave and sick pay. For those whose employers don't offer sick pay, you might be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP) instead. You MAY ALSO be entitled to SSP if you need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home. This includes if you've been instructed to isolated under the coronavirus contact tracing schemes – for example, after having been 'pinged' by the NHS Covid-19 app.
How much is statutory sick pay? Statutory sick pay (SSP) currently stands at £95.85 a week. NOTE: Your employer may also offer sick pay which is worth more than the statutory amount if this is outlined in your contract.
How do I qualify and when can I claim? To qualify, you must be employed and earn an average of at least £120 a week to be entitled to it (see full eligibility criteria). If you earn under £120/week and you already claim universal credit, log in to your online journal, update your details and your universal credit award should be boosted in line with your drop in earnings. If you're not already claiming, apply for universal credit and if you need cash urgently, request an 'advance' payment. Remember, you'll only be eligible for SPP if you're unable to work.
- SSP is payable from DAY ONE where you're ill with coronavirus and unable to work. If you are off sick for any other reason (ie, not coronavirus-related), standard rules apply and SSP will kick in from day four of being ill, not day one.
- SSP is also payable from DAY ONE if you're self-isolating and unable to work – but this must be for an official coronavirus-related reason. This includes if you have coronavirus but feel fine, or you or someone in your household has coronavirus symptoms. It also includes being told to self-isolate by a doctor, NHS 111 or via the contact tracing schemes – for example, being 'pinged' by the NHS Covid-19 app in England.
How do I claim? SSP is paid through your employer, so you must notify them. You can claim from day one of coronavirus illness or self-isolation – though if your work normally offers more generous sick pay, you may be able to get that. If you then proceed to develop Covid-19 symptoms, or if you're unwell with another illness, you can continue to get SSP for 28 weeks.
Employers should also be flexible about requiring evidence for sick leave from employees, for example, if you're unable to provide a doctor's note due to being in self-isolation. If you're not unwell or in quarantine, but your employer asks you not to come to work, you should receive your full pay. For full help on your employment rights during the coronavirus outbreak, see the ACAS website.
Self-isolating ahead of surgery? You could also qualify for SSP. If you're told to self-isolate by a healthcare professional ahead of surgery, then you might also be eligible for SSP. It's payable from day one, but you'll need to self-isolate for at least four days prior to surgery to qualify (or three days, with surgery taking place on the fourth). The other SSP eligibility rules will also apply (ie, employed and earning at least £120/week).
The Government's no longer advises people deemed 'clinically extremely vulnerable' to coronavirus to shield and not travel into the workplace. The effect of this is that you can't use the need to shield as a reason to claim statutory sick pay - even if you still don't want to travel into the workplace but you're unable to work from home.
Looking after children and your rights at work
With schools open for the autumn term, many frazzled parents are breathing a sigh of relief. However, for those still juggling or having to deal with temporary sporadic closures due to coronavirus, here's what your rights are:
By law, employees have the right to take time off work to help someone who depends on them in an unexpected event. However, you DON'T have a legal right to be paid for this time, though some employers may offer paid time off in this situation depending on your contract or your workplace's policy.
There's no official limit on how much time you're allowed to take off. It just must be "reasonable" for the situation.
Look at other options, including taking annual leave or unpaid parental leave. If you do need to spend a longer period away from work, you may also be able to book the time off as holiday, or take unpaid parental leave. Parental leave is available for employed parents who have been with their company for more than a year, and is usually limited to four weeks' leave per year, per child – though it could be extended at your employer's discretion. It's important to note that it's unpaid though.
See if flexible working can help. You also have the legal right to ask to work flexibly as long as you've worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks, and it must consider your request and deal with it "in a reasonable manner". This could include asking to change or reduce your hours so you can look after your children.
Other employee rights during the pandemic
While it's not part of the now-closed furlough scheme, there are a few other things you need to know about your rights as an employee that are relevant, including annual leave and a tax break that's available if you need to work from home...
Normally, businesses need to make sure that their employees take at least the statutory minimum 28 days of annual leave (made up of 20 discretionary days, and time equivalent to the eight UK bank holidays).
However, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy released emergency legislation in March 2020, temporarily allowing businesses to let employees take less than the statutory minimum number of days of leave in 2020. This is aimed at employers on the front line of coronavirus (like hospitals, supermarkets and pharmacies), to make sure they have enough staff working each day to keep providing the services the country most needs during this crisis.
The alternative would be the employer forcing its employees to take the leave they're owed because they're required to do so by law, potentially leaving them short-staffed at a crucial time.
Technically, the legislation allows all employers to let workers carry leave over into the following two years. However, just like the furlough scheme further up this guide, it doesn't force employers to do it. Your employer will decide whether it wants or needs to be more flexible with its leave policy. If you've not heard anything from your employer, ask it if it's planning to make any changes.
If your employer requires you to work at home you can claim for increased costs due to working from home, eg, heating and electricity (one estimate suggests bills are up £30/week). Clearly, right now millions are required to work at home, so this applies.
In practice, apportioning the cost is tough, so instead you can claim a £6/week rate. You can make a claim in two ways:
Employers can pay you £6/week extra, free of tax. Yet right now, with many firms struggling, asking may be bad timing, so...
If not, you can claim tax relief on £6 of income per week, which for basic 20% taxpayers is £1.20/week (about £60/year), and higher 40% taxpayers £2.40/week (about £125/year). You can apply directly to HMRC for this tax relief – and as long as you're claiming relief on the equivalent of £6/week for the period you worked from home, you won't have to provide evidence of the extra spending.
Required to work from home, even for ONE DAY, since 6 April 2021? You can claim tax relief from HMRC for the WHOLE TAX YEAR. It may sound too good to be true, but it's perfectly legitimate. So one day of working from home could be worth £60 or £125.
Plus, if you worked from home, even for ONE DAY, in the 2020/21 tax year, then you can backdate claim for that entire year whilst claiming for 2021/22 (so you claim for both tax years in one sitting).
Sounds complicated? Don't worry, there's full info on how to claim in Martin's Working from home due to coronavirus? Claim tax back on extra costs blog – or if you're ready to claim, then you can do so via the Gov.uk website.
More than TWO MILLION people have successfully claimed this tax relief since Martin first blogged about it back in October 2020.
Sadly, many have been laid off as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Unfortunately, it is likely to be difficult for many to find alternative employment, and this situation will likely get worse now that furlough has ended.
If you are (or may be) made redundant, it's vital to know your rights and to get a survival plan in place. This could include sorting your finances and making a debt audit, and making sure you're receiving all the help you're entitled to.
It's also important to know that being on furlough SHOULDN'T impact your normal statutory redundancy rights (eg, any entitlement to redundancy pay or notice). Our Redundancy Help guide takes you through all this and more, step by step.
It's also worth using our Benefits Checker to see what you may be entitled to or read our Coronavirus Universal Credit & Benefits guide.
You may be able to carry over unused annual leave by up to two years
Working from home? You can claim tax back on additional home expenses
If you are (or may be) made redundant, know your rights
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