Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is providing to support working carers who may be without full time work during the Covid-19 outbreak and who are not entitled to carers allowance.

People who have caring responsibilities and are currently unable to work should speak to their employer who may be able to keep them on the payroll if the business is unable to operate or have no work for employees to do because of COVID-19. This is known as being ‘on furlough’ leave. Under this scheme, employees could get paid 80% of their wages up to a monthly cap of £2,500.

If an employee’s salary is reduced as a result of these changes, they may be eligible for support through the welfare system, including Universal Credit.

Those affected check if they could be covered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

More guidance on what their rights are at work, what benefits they are entitled to and what further support is available can be found at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-employees

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/health/coronavirus-what-it-means-for-you/

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/coronavirus-advice-and-support/help-and-advice.aspx