Financial Support for Individuals

Unemployment benefit is a weekly cash benefit paid to unemployed people who are looking for work with an employer. To be eligible for unemployment benefit you must satisfy certain contribution conditions.

There are two contribution conditions that you must meet to be entitled unemployment benefit.  These are:

1. You must have paid at least 26 social insurance contributions, as an employed person in Guernsey at any time in your working life; and
2. You must have paid or had credited at least 26 contributions, as an employed person, during 2020 (for claims beyond 30 June, this switches to 2021).

Yes. If you don’t hold a valid residency certificate or permit you will not be eligible for unemployment benefit.

The amount payable depends on the number of contributions you’ve paid or had credited in 2020.  The full rate of benefit is £172.13 per week.  The reduced rates of benefit can be found by clicking this link (gov.gg) and going to page 9.

Please call our helpline on 222511 or email employmentbenefits@gov.gg to discuss what support may be available to you.

Sickness benefit is a weekly cash benefit paid if you're unable to work due to illness or injury. To receive sickness benefit you must be unable to work for at least 4 days and meet certain contribution conditions.

There are two contribution conditions that you must meet to be entitled to sickness benefit.  These are:

1. You must have paid at least 26 social insurance contributions, as an employed or self-employed person, at any time in your working life; and
2. You must have paid or had credited at least 26 contributions, as an employed or self-employed person, during 2020 (for claims beyond 30 June, this switches to 2021).

The amount payable depends on the number of contributions you’ve paid or had credited in 2020.  The full rate of benefit is £172.13 per week.  The reduced rates of benefit can be found by clicking this link (gov.gg) and going to page 7.

To receive sickness benefit, you must be unable to work for at least 4 days and meet certain contribution conditions. 

If you test positive for COVID-19 and can’t work remotely, you can only make a claim for sickness benefit when you are symptom-free, from Day 6 onwards. To make a claim, please call our helpline on 222507.

Claims will be taken retrospectively so that we know how much sickness benefit should be paid. As an example, if you are symptom-free on Day 6, you should contact us to make a claim at that point. In that example, sickness benefit will be paid for 5 days, as you will no longer need to stay home after this point.

A sickness benefit claim, through self-certification, can be extended up to a maximum of 10 days if you are still showing symptoms and cannot work. If you are claiming sickness benefit for 10 days or less, you will not need to obtain a medical certificate. If you are claiming sickness benefit for more than 10 days, you will need to obtain a medical certificate.

Income support is a weekly cash benefit for people on low incomes. It’s a means-tested benefit which brings a person's income up to the level which the States decides is the minimum amount needed to live on – this varies based on household size.

The minimum amount required to live on is known as the ‘requirement rate’. A person’s requirement rate will depend on their circumstances. For example, a person who only has to look after themselves will not need as much money as, say, a person with a family to support. Similarly, a person who only requires assistance on a short-term basis will not need as much money as a person with a long-term need. The requirement rates can be found by clicking on this link and going to page 13. An allowance for rent or mortgage interest is added to the requirement rates.

A person who is over 18 years of age, no longer in full-time education and ordinarily resident in Guernsey, Alderney, Herm or Jethou may claim income support if their resources are insufficient to meet their needs.

If you live with a partner (whether you’re married or not), both your income and their income will be taken into account when determining if you’re entitled to income support. So, in the case of a couple where one person currently has no income, or very reduced income, as a direct result of COVID-19, and their partner remains in employment, the partner’s income will be taken into account as income available to the household.  If the partner’s income (and any other income the couple may have) is not enough to meet the couple’s/family’s needs, the person would be eligible for income support, providing they have savings below the capital limit (see below) and they’re ordinarily resident in Guernsey, Alderney, Herm or Jethou. If they’re not ordinarily resident in the islands they may be eligible for a payment from the hardship fund (see below).

There are no contribution conditions for income support.

Yes. If you don’t hold a valid residency certificate or permit you will not be eligible for income support.

The type of property that you’re occupying may impact your eligibility for income support. If you know the classification of the property that you’re occupying (e.g. Part A, B, C or D of the Open Market Register) this will be helpful when discussing what support is available to you.

If you are living in Part A, you may be entitled to a personal allowance under income support, but not a rent allowance (see below). If you are living in Part D, you are not entitled to any income support or rent allowance unless you have been resident in the Islands for 5 years or more in total. But everyone can be assisted from the hardship fund based on their financial need.

If you’re a householder - that is to say, if you’re living in and responsible for the upkeep of a house or a flat, and not living as part of somebody else’s household - a rent allowance will be added to your requirement rate (but only up to the maximum rent allowance for your household size - see below) when calculating your weekly needs.

This is the maximum amount of rent which will be taken into account to calculate a householder’s weekly needs.  If the amount of rent that you pay per week is less than the maximum rent allowance (MRA) for your household size, the amount of rent you pay will be taken into account. The MRAs that will apply from 5 February 2021 are set out below:

• Single householder or couple with no dependent children - £234.00
• Couple/single householder with one dependent child - £271.82
• Couple/single householder with two dependent children - £346.05
• Couple/single householder with three or more dependent children - £423.02
• Person living in shared accommodation - £181.16

If you’re an owner occupier, an allowance will be added to your requirement rate based on the interest element of any mortgage repayment up to the value of the maximum rent allowance for your household size (see above).

Income support is not payable if you have savings or other investments worth more than the relevant capital limit for your household size, as set out below:

• Single person with no dependent children - £13,000.00
• Couple with no dependent children - £15,000.00
• Couple/single person with one dependent child - £17,000.00
• Couple/single person with two dependent children - £21,000.00
• Couple/single person with three or more children - £23,000.00

The value of the home you live in will be disregarded if you’re an owner occupier.

Please call our helpline on 222508 or email incomesupport@gov.gg to discuss what support may be available to you.

Generally, contributions paid as a self-employed person do not count for unemployment benefit which would mean that you could not receive unemployment benefit as a self-employed person.  But, if in 2020 you have at least 39 contributions paid or credited as an employed person, then any self-employed (or non-employed contributions) on your record for the remaining 13 weeks of the year will be treated as if they were employed person contributions.  After 30 June, the relevant contribution year becomes 2021..

Yes, providing you meet the two contribution conditions set out in the sickness benefit section above.

Yes, providing you meet the eligibility criteria set out in the income support section above.

Pension claims are still being processed as normal.  You should claim your pension within 3 months of reaching pension age or you may lose benefit. 

If you think you might have difficulties making your application on time, please call our helpline on 222506 or email pensionsallowances@gov.gg

If you are of pensionable age you may be entitled to assistance in the form of income support.

Unemployment benefit and sickness benefit are not available for people over pension age.

Please call our helpline on 222508 or email incomesupport@gov.gg to discuss what support may be available for you.

Email: publichealth@gov.gg

Phone number: 01481 220001 or 01481 220002

Email: covid19enquiries@gov.gg

Phone number: 01481 717118

Email: business.support@gov.gg

Phone number: 01481 743803

Email: financial.support@gov.gg

Phone number: 01481 225700

Email: population@gov.gg

Phone number: 01481 715790

Email: employmentrelations@gov.gg

Phone number: 01481 732583

Email: housingtenancy@gov.gg

Phone number: 01481 756550

Email: guernseywelfare@cwgsy.net 

Phone number: 07839 724300

Phone number: 01481 242266