Example
C asked for an independent review of the council’s decision. They had applied for a Self-Isolation Support Grant as they had tested positive for COVID-19 and been required to self-isolate. They worked in a salon so were unable to work from home and lost earnings as a result.
The council declined the initial application on the basis that C had not consented for Test and Protect to share their details therefore they were unable to verify that C had been formally notified to self-isolate. C requested a first tier review of the decision but the council did not change their decision because they were not satisfied that C had encountered a reduction in earnings based on the data held on their systems.
We reviewed the council’s case file and spoke with C for further information about their situation. They explained that their employer made an error when calculating their wages and instead of deducting earnings for the period including their isolation, they did not do this until the following month. C provided the latter payslip and an email from their employer confirming that there had been an error. As such, we changed the council’s decision and awarded C £500 as we assessed that they met the eligibility criteria set out in the guidance. We were satisfied that C had experienced a reduction in earnings due to self-isolating albeit, the loss was encountered a few weeks later. We changed the council's decision and provided feedback that they should have asked C about the conflicting evidence they had concerning their income; that their initial decision was made outwith the timescales in the guidance and that their decision letters contained insufficient information.