You might be able to get a payment of £500 if you’ve been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, or you’re the parent or guardian of a child who has been told to self-isolate.

If you’ve been told to self-isolate

If you’ve been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace because you’ve tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive, you’re legally required to do so.

If the NHS COVID-19 app sends you a notification to self-isolate because you’re a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and you apply for the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme, you will also be legally required to self-isolate.

To support you during self-isolation, you could be eligible for a £500 Test and Trace Support Payment if you meet all the following criteria:

• you’ve been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app, either because you’ve tested positive for COVID-19 or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive
• you’ve responded to messages from NHS Test and Trace and have provided any legally required information
• you’re employed or self-employed
• you’re unable to work from home and will lose income as a result of self-isolating
• you’re currently receiving or are the partner of someone in the same household who is receiving, at least one of the following benefits:
  - Universal Credit
  - Working Tax Credit
  - income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  - income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  - Income Support
  - Housing Benefit
  - Pension Credit
   

Discretionary Payment

If you’re not on one of these benefits, you could be eligible for a £500 discretionary payment if all the following apply:

you meet all the other criteria listed above
you’re on a low income
you will face financial hardship as a result of self-isolating

Who cannot get the Test and Trace Support Payment

You will be not be eligible for either a Test and Trace Support Payment or a discretionary payment in any of the following circumstances:

• You are quarantining after travelling abroad (unless you test positive during the quarantine period)
• You have not experienced a reduction in earnings as a result of having to self-isolate
• You can work from home during a period of self-isolation
• You were notified that you needed to self-isolate before 28 September 2020
• Your application is made more than 42 days after your period of self-isolation started
• You have not provided NHS Test and Trace with the information they have requested from you
• You have not either received a notification from NHS Test and Trace telling you to self-isolate or been identified from 10 December 2020 onwards as a close contact by the NHS Covid-19 App.

When and where to make a claim

Each adult can make a claim if they meet the criteria.  There is one payment per period of self-isolation.  If, in the future, you need to self-isolate again, you can make a further claim assuming you meet the criteria and there is a gap between your periods of self-isolation.  If you are isolating at an address that is not your normal home, you must claim direct to the authority where you normally live.

Backdating

You can claim up to 42 days after the first day of your self-isolation period

If you’re the parent or guardian of a child who has been told to self-isolate

If you are not legally required to self-isolate, but you are the parent or guardian of a child who has been told to self-isolate on or after 8 March 2021, you could be eligible for a £500 Test and Trace Support Payment or discretionary payment if all the following apply:

• you’re the parent or guardian of a child in your household who is self-isolating, and you need to take time off work to care for them
• your child is aged 15 or under, or aged 25 or under with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, normally attends an education or childcare setting, and has been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or by their education or childcare setting
• you’re unable to work from home and will lose income because you have to care for your child while they are self-isolating
• you meet all the other eligibility criteria for a Test and Trace Support Payment or discretionary payment

Parent and guardians who cannot get the Test and Trace Support Payment

Parents and guardians of a child who has been told to self-isolate will be not be eligible in any of the following circumstances:

• You are unable to provide evidence from your child’s school or care provider
• You have not experienced a reduction in earnings as a result of having to self-isolate
• You can work from home during the period of your child’s self-isolation
• Your child was notified to self-isolate before 8 March 2021
• Your application is made more than 42 days after your child's self-isolation period started
• You have taken time off work because your child’s education or care setting has closed

Number of applications 

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

In a household with two or more children, the parents or guardians can claim more than once only if the children’s self-isolation periods do not overlap.

Backdating

You can claim up to 42 days after the first day of your self-isolation period.

How long it takes to receive payment

If your application is successful, you should receive payment directly into your bank account within 3 to 5 working days from the date of our decision.

Effect on benefits 

The payment will not affect your Universal Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support. 

Income Tax and National Insurance 

If you’re employed, you’ll pay tax on your payment if you go over your tax-free personal allowance. Your tax code will change to collect the tax. You will not pay National Insurance contributions on the payment. If you’re self-employed, you must report the payment on your Self-Assessment tax return.