Cuts to a Covid-19 benefit have sparked outrage among those who were laid off during the health crisis.

The Manx Earnings Replacement Allowance (MERA) was introduced on April 6 to provide a set income to those made redundant, temporarily laid off or who lost self-employed work as a result of the pandemic.

Payouts of £200 a week have been made to a total of 2,678 MERA claimants, with 1,231 of these still getting payments.

But Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan announced in his Budget update last week that payments would be cut from £200 a week to £100 from August 3.

One claimant, who has asked not to be named, told the Manx Independent that the halving of the benefit will make a grim situation worse.

She said: ’I applied for MERA and it has taken a bit of the pressure off until now.

’Then I received a letter about the allowance being halved as of August 3 from £200 a week to £100 a week.

’I have been depending on these funds - it has been a godsend. To be told that it is being halved is adding insult to injury in an already grim situation on the work front.

’Why has it changed? What am I to do to cover the rest of the funds when there is no work out there in the finance sector?’

She said the original letter she received told her she would get £200 a week until September 20.

’What makes the government think that those on MERA can do without, and deduct £100 a week, £400 a month. How wrong is this?’ She said. ’Maybe the government should deduct this from their salary and see how they like it.

’There is going to be a lot of very angry people who have got the same letter.’

Giving his Budget update, Mr Cannan said: ’MERA was always intended to provide temporary respite during the most difficult of times and now our economy is beginning its resurgence it’s time to end this particular support scheme.’

People who become newly unemployed from August 1 will not be eligible for MERA, but may instead be entitled to benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance.

At the same time the weekly rate drops to £100, the maximum amount an individual can earn while claiming MERA will increase from £50 per week to £150 per week. Mr Cannan said this meant that the total value of the income ceiling for claimants remains constant at £250 per week.

MERA will end for all residual awards on September 20. Between March 1 and July 13 £4.9m was paid out in MERA, in addition to increased welfare spending of £3m compared to this time last year. Mr Cannan said he expected the cost of funding the remaining payments under MERA to be no more than £3m.