Dealing with COVID-19: A guide for applying for a Personal Support Grant

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, has been supporting the welfare of employees in the furnishing industry, past and present, for more than 100 years.

The charity is awarding personal support grants to employees and sole traders working in the UK furnishing industry who are financially impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

AM I ELIGIBLE FOR A FINANCIAL GRANT?

WHAT WE AWARD GRANTS FOR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW TO APPLY

AM I ELIGIBLE FOR A FINANCIAL GRANT?

WHAT WE AWARD GRANTS FOR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW TO APPLY

Am I eligible for a Personal Support Grant? To be eligible for financial assistance from The Furniture Makers’ Company, you must have a minimum of two years’ employment service in any capacity within the UK furnishing industry.

We also request that you provide documentary evidence of your employment within the UK furnishing industry, such as:

• A letter/email from your employer confirming employment dates

• Employment contract

• Redundancy letter / letter advising of being furloughed

• Payslip advice slip or P45

• You can give us written permission to contact your employer directly, in order to speed up the processing time of the application.

If you are self-employed, please send us any relevant documentation, for example two years’ tax returns. If you have no evidence of your employment history then there is a way to get evidence. However, this can take a long time, and at a time when government departments are under pressure, the delay could be considerable. If you need to go ahead with obtaining employment history then please complete the HM Revenue and Customs form, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/get-proof-employment-history Unfortunately, it can take up to eight weeks or more for you to receive the information from HMRC, so applicants are encouraged to provide alternative employment confirmation where possible. If this is the situation you find yourself in, please speak with our welfare officer.

AM I ELIGIBLE FOR A FINANCIAL GRANT?

WHAT WE AWARD GRANTS FOR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW TO APPLY

What we award grants forOur charity was set up over 100 years ago to help people from the furnishing industry in times of hardship. We are are currently awarding Personal Support Grants to workers and sole traders in the industry financially affected by the COVID-19 crisis and experiencing hardship.

How much we can award youThe Personal Support Grant we award you will be based on your situation with the duration of the support depending on your personal need.

If you are or were an employee at a UK furnishing business (manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, service provider) and qualify for a grant, you can apply for the following:

- Individuals can apply for a grant of £200 per calendar month.

- Married couples can apply for a grant of £250 per calendar month.

Both the individual and married couples will be given initial payments for two months but further assistance may remain available for an additional four months (four months in total) if the need remains.

Sole traders can apply for a one-off grant of £500.

AM I ELIGIBLE FOR A FINANCIAL GRANT?

WHAT WE AWARD GRANTS FOR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW TO APPLY

Frequently asked questionsWe understand that you may have some questions about whether you qualify for support from us. We’ve compiled a list of those that we get asked most often. If you still have an enquiry, please email welfareofficer@furnituremakers.org.uk.

Am I eligible to apply? To be eligible for financial assistance, you must normally have a minimum of two years’ employment service in any capacity within the UK furnishing industry. This includes companies manufacturing/supplying furniture, kitchens or bathrooms; furniture stores such as DFS, BrightHouse, Ikea, Argos; carpet sales or fitting; beds, curtains and upholstery.

What kind of help do you offer? We can award a grant for a wide range of purposes and each application will be considered individually. As a guide, we often help with essential household bills, such as rent/mortgage, council tax, gas and electricity. Or with replacement items such as cooker, fridge or washing machine.

How will a grant be paid? In many cases our grant will be paid to the creditor, supplier or contractor. This is so that we do not affect any state or local benefits that you might apply for such as universal credit or council tax support. Given the emergency crisis many workers are currently facing, we can pay into your bank account. However, we will need to see a current bank statement showing full details of your address etc and one month’s transactions showing income and outgoings in order to do so.

Why do you ask to see my bank statement? As a charity, we need to ensure that our funds go to those most in need. We understand that you may have some savings and this will not necessarily mean that we can’t help you, but we will take your whole situation into account.

If you award me a grant, will I have to pay anything back? No. Our grants are not loans and we will never ask you to pay money back.

Will my employer have to know that I have applied for help? No. Our service is entirely confidential, and we will never approach your employer unless you ask us to contact them to confirm your employment. We do ask for evidence that you have worked in the furnishings industry, but you can supply evidence such as pay slips, P60 or contract of employment.

Will receiving a Personal Support Grant affect any Welfare Benefit claims I make?No. From what we understand, our grants shouldn’t impact on Universal Credit or other benefits, as the grant is a gift from our charity.

I have been made redundant and been awarded some redundancy money. Can I still apply for a Personal Support Grant?Yes. We will assess your situation on a individual basis but receiving redundancy does not exclude you.

AM I ELIGIBLE FOR A FINANCIAL GRANT?

WHAT WE AWARD GRANTS FOR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW TO APPLY

How to applyIf you would like to proceed with applying for a financial grant, you can download and complete an application form. However given the current crisis we will accept applications via email providing you can supply evidence or employment within the trade and a recent full bank statement showing at least one month’s transactions.

Please enclose with your application any relevant supporting documentation such as:

• Copy of a recent bank statement

• Quotes or invoices from suppliers

• Copies of any outstanding household bills

• Relevant supporting letters from caseworkers

Important note Applications cannot be processed unless you have signed the declaration at the end of the application form. If you are applying without the application form and by email only, we may need to speak with you directly and therefore ask you to supply a daytime phone number we can call you on to discuss the application.

If you have any queries, please contact us for help.

Sue Dean07366 568458020 7562 8528 Rachael Garnett020 7562 8521 Meera Samani020 7562 8520 support@furnituremakers.org.uk The Furniture Makers’ Company,Furniture Makers’ Hall 12 Austin Friars London EC2N 2HE

APPLICATION FORM