A new £300 Manx Isolation Payment will come into effect on Monday, January 10, for people who test positive for Covid-19 and are unable to work.
The lump sum will replace a system which provides those qualifying for short-term Incapacity Benefit with £230 a week for up to 14 days.
It will apply only to people whose period of isolation begins on or after January 10.
From Monday, short term Incapacity Benefit for new claimants will revert to the standard rate of £86.55 a week.
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This will coincide with the introduction of the Manx Isolation Payment, which must be applied for separately once a person has completed a full four days in isolation.
A Manx Isolation Payment is payable to a person once in any 26-week period and the online application form will be available from Friday, January 14.
It is available to both employees who have been earning at least £120 a week and to self-employed individuals who have been paying class 2 National Insurance contributions.
However, it is not available to employees, including government employees, who receive either full pay or more than half of their normal rate of pay for the isolation period.
Treasury Minister David Ashford MHK said: ’The introduction of the Manx Isolation Payment is designed to get more financial help to a broader range of people.
’It has become apparent that Incapacity Benefit was not reaching some groups, particularly younger workers.
’We are therefore tweaking our approach to address this need while using qualification criteria similar to that used in the past for MERA payments.’
A Manx Isolation Payment will be considered as income for Income Support and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance purposes in the week in which it is paid. It will have no impact on any other benefits.
For further information, including qualification criteria and how to apply, visit gov.im/categories/benefits-and-financial-support/
The best way to contact the team directly in relation to the Manx Isolation Payment is to email [email protected] - if this isn’t possible, call 685656.