There For You – UNISON’s welfare fund – are offering help for members struggling to pay for school uniform.
Applications will be made online and a link to apply will be added to the bottom of this webpage when the grant is live.
The grant will open on 29 May 2024 for 750 applications at 8.30am and again for another 750 applications at 5pm. You will not be able to apply before these times.
We anticipate high demand for these grants; and due to limited funding, we’re unable to accept more applications.
Please ensure you read the below information to check if you are eligible for the grant, as well as for further information about what information you will need to hand to apply.
If you are unable to complete the application due to an accessibility need, please email: sug@unison.co.uk or call UNISONdirect on 0800 0 857 857.
School Uniform Grant 2024 Criteria
Applicants must:
- Be a UNISON member and have paid at least four weeks’ subscriptions as of 29 May 2024. Subscriptions must be up to date.
- Not have received a grant from UNISON Welfare since 29 November
2023, excluding the Energy Support Fund or Winter Fuel Grant. - Have savings (including the total rolling balance on current accounts) below £1,000 to qualify.
- Be financially responsible for school-aged child(ren) and receiving Child Benefit for them**.By school-aged, we mean children aged between 4 and 17 years old, who will be returning to school in the autumn.
And EITHER:
Be on a low income, meaning a net household income* of no more than £26,000/year (£2,166.67/month)
OR:
Be in receipt of means-tested benefits. This includes:
- Universal Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Child and/or Working Tax Credits
- Pension Credit
- Means-tested Jobseekers Allowance
- Means-tested Employment Support Allowance
- Income Support
* Net household income includes your monthly take-home pay from work (plus your partner’s, if you have one), any income from child maintenance payments, any income from student finance loans or bursaries, pensions (excluding Pension Credit) and any income from people living with you (e.g. adult children or lodgers).
** Where members either have no recourse to public funds and their household income is above £26,000/year or have no recourse to public funds and don’t receive Child Benefit; an assessment will be undertaken to see whether they would be eligible for benefits if they did have recourse to public funds.
For more info and FAQs, see UNISON’s main website: here
