Employment: Coronavirus

(asked on 17th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support will be available for people who are extremely clinically vulnerable and unable to return to work after 1 August 2020 because they cannot work from home and their workplace cannot be made covid-secure.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 22nd July 2020

On 22 June, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will relax the current public health guidance for those identified as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) to shield at home. This means from 1 August they will be able to return to work if they are unable to work from home, provided their workplace is COVID-safe.

It is important that this group continue to take careful precautions, and employers should do all they can to enable them to work from home where this is possible, including moving them to another role if required. Where this is not possible, the CEV should be provided with the safest on-site roles that enable them to maintain social distancing from others.

If employers cannot provide a safe working environment, the CEV will continue to have access to an unprecedented package of financial support. This is not limited to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but also includes the introduction of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and an increase in the generosity of welfare payments worth a further £9.3bn according to Office for Budget Responsibility estimates.

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