Am I covered by the rules for employees put on furlough?

Q. I understand the rules for furlough employees have been extended. I was employed on 5th March 2020 so can my employer apply for help for me?

A. The scheme has been extended so anyone employed on or before 19th March 2020 MAY qualify to be paid under the scheme.

In order to benefit your employer must also have notified HMRC on or before the date that you were "added" to payroll for purpose of Tax, National Insurance, etc.

Q. I am self-employed and have been claiming Universal Credit whilst waiting to see if I can get help under the various schemes.

I have savings set aside for my business, such as income tax liability.

Are these savings disregarded for Universal Credit?

A. Only savings above £6000 are relevant for Universal Credit, so if yours are below this amount then it isn't relevant (but should still be declared). You may have also seen in the press that Martin Lewis has been advising people that money set aside for business will be disregarded for Universal Credit.

However there has been no official confirmation for The Government/DWP that this is actually correct.

Q. I am waiting to see if I qualify for the £10,000 small business grant from my local council.

I also get Universal Credit. Will the grant affect payments?

A. Again there has been no guidance/legal changes to the current Universal Credit Regulations about how these grants will be treated for purposes of all means-tested benefits so this is currently a grey legal area. It is likely the government will clarify how payments of these grants will affect, if at all, your benefits. We do know that if your receive help under the Self-Employed Income Support this will be treated as earnings for the purposes of Universal Credit and will affect the amount of Universal Credit.

Official government guidance on Universal credit is available at: https://www.understandinguniversalcredit. gov.uk/employment-and-benefits-support/