The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide"

Moris Ryan
8 years ago
Views:

1 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority November 26, 2012

2 Crown Copyright 2012 You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit or Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

3 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide i Contents SECTION 1 Introduction 1 What is the Hardship Fund? SECTION 2 Eligibility 2 Circumstances in which you may be eligible for a payment Further eligibility requirements SECTION 3 How do you apply for a payment? 4 SECTION 4 How we deal with your claim 6 How we make a payment

........ 2 Further eligibility requirements........................ 3 SECTION 3 How do you apply for a payment?

4 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide 1 SECTION 1 Introduction What is the Hardship Fund? 1. The Hardship Fund ( the Fund ) is a discretionary fund available to provide some relief from financial hardship for very low paid workers who are temporarily unable to work as a direct result of being a victim of a crime of violence and whose injuries do not fall within the tariff of injuries in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme A copy of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 can be found on our website at 2. The Fund seeks to ease the financial hardship of those who have no recourse to other sources of financial assistance for example those who do not receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). The payment is based on the weekly rate of SSP. It will provide financial support, from the fourth to the 28th day of absence, provided the applicant has been unable to work for a period of 7 consecutive days. 3. This means the minimum payment would be (a daily rate of 12.26). The maximum payment is capped at the equivalent of four weeks SSP (less the first 3 days); this means that the maximum payment would be The Fund applies to injuries sustained in England and Wales and is capped at 500,000 per year. 5. The Fund will be administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority ( the Authority ) following the referral of an application based on an initial assessment of eligibility by Victim Support.

5 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide 2 SECTION 2 Eligibility Circumstances in which you may be eligible for a payment 1. You may get a payment if you: ˆ sustained an injury in England or Wales on or after 27 November 2012 as a result of being a direct victim of a crime of violence A direct victim is someone who was directly injured by an assailant. Annex B of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 describes the types of crimes of violence which can lead to an injury and is to be applied to this Fund; ˆ were unable to work for a period of at least 7 consecutive days as a consequence of an injury (physical or mental) sustained as a result of being a direct victim of a crime of violence; ˆ earn less than the minimum amount needed to qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) i.e. less than 107 per week (before tax); ˆ are not in receipt of SSP or an equivalent employer-provided scheme this means that if you are eligible for payment under SSP or an equivalent employer-provided scheme you would not be eligible for payment under this Fund. ˆ do not have any unspent criminal convictions which under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 would bar you from an award A payment under the Hardship Fund will not be made to an applicant who on the date of application has an unspent conviction which resulted in either a custodial sentence or a community order (see further, Annex D of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012). In the case of other unspent convictions, a payment will be reduced or withheld unless there are exceptional circumstances. Applicants with motoring offences for which the only penalty imposed was one or more of an endorsement, penalty points or a fine under Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 are exempt from this provision and will not generally have their payments reduced. 2. You must report your injuries to the police as soon as is reasonably practicable (but normally within 48 hours of the incident taking place) and we must receive an application to the Fund within 4 weeks of the date of the incident.

6 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide 3 3. Please note if you are in receipt of or have applied for Employment Support Allowance (ESA), you will need to inform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of your change in circumstances immediately. You can do this by contacting them direct on Any payments made from the Hardship Fund will be taken into account when considering the level of income-related ESA that you receive. Further eligibility requirements 4. You cannot get a payment if: ˆ you were injured before 27 November 2012; ˆ you did not report the incident to the police as soon as reasonably practicable (normally within 48 hours of the incident taking place); ˆ you did not make an application to the Fund within 4 weeks of the date of the incident; ˆ you sustained an injury which is eligible for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (i.e. one that falls within the tariff of injuries in that Scheme).

immediately. You can do this by contacting them direct on 0845 602 7301.

7 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide 4 SECTION 3 How do you apply for a payment? 1. Applications to the Fund are by way of referral following an initial assessment of eligibility by Victim Support. They will assist you in making your application. We ONLY consider applications that are referred by Victim Support. 2. Victim Support is an independent national charity for people affected by crime. They provide free and confidential support, and practical help to victims and witnesses of crime. You can contact them by visiting their website at or telephoning your nearest Victim Care Unit below: North East Region County Durham, Northumbria & Teeside: North West Region Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside: Greater Manchester Yorkshire & Humber Region Humber, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire: East Midlands Region Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire: West Midlands Region Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire: Wales South West Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire: South East Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Berkshire: East of England Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire: London It is your responsibility to prove that you are eligible for a payment and you will need to supply the following evidence to Victim Support to allow them to make an initial assessment of your eligibility: ˆ A crime reference number this will help Victim Support and CICA to confirm that you were a victim of a crime of violence which was reported to

They provide free and confidential support, and practical help to victims and witnesses of crime. You can contact them by visiting their website at www.victimsupport.org.

8 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide 5 the police; ˆ A pay statement or letter from your employer to show that your average weekly earnings are less than 107 per week(before tax) and you are therefore not eligible for SSP; ˆ If you are selfemployed, a copy of your most recent tax returns to show that your income is less than 107 per week(before tax); ˆ A copy of a certificate (Fit Note) from your medical practitioner which shows you have been unable to work for at least 7 consecutive days as a direct result of being a victim of a crime of violence. 4. Please note that for absences of 7 consecutive days, you will still need to provide a copy of your Fit Note from your medical practitioner. A copy of your self-certification form will not be accepted as evidence by Victim Support or by us. 5. Once Victim Support have made an initial assessment they will complete an application and ask you to provide a signed consent for the release of all records, evidence and other relevant information about you and the circumstances of your injury. This will be sent to us to process.

from your medical practitioner which shows you have been unable to work for at least 7 consecutive days as a direct result of being a victim of a crime of violence. 4.

9 The Hardship Fund An applicant s guide 6 SECTION 4 How we deal with your claim 1. Once we have received a fully completed application from Victim Support we will:ˆ contact the police to confirm details of the incident; and ˆ conduct a criminal records check to establish if you have any unspent convictions which will have to be taken into account. 2. Following receipt of all the information detailed above, we will aim to process applications within 6 working days of receiving all necessary documentation. 3. We will inform you of our decision on your claim as soon as it is made. If we have reduced or refused a payment (if, for example, you have unspent convictions), we will tell you why. How we make a payment 4. We will only accept an instruction to make a payment to you. This will be paid directly into your bank/building society account.

have any unspent convictions which will have to be taken into account. 2.

Hardship Fund Published 27 November 2012

Hardship Fund Published 27 November 2012 Crown copyright 2012 Produced by the Ministry of Justice You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms