Get support with your energy bills

  There for You (UNISON’s welfare charity) will open the third phase of the Energy Support Fund on 27 September, with grants of £200 available to support low-income members with their energy costs. Due to finite funds, only 2,000 applications can be accepted. Of these, 1,000 will be released at 8.30am and 1,000 at 5pm. In previous rounds of this fund, demand has been so high that applications opened and closed within hours – so if you plan to apply, it might be helpful to set yourself a reminder. Find out more about eligibility requirements and how to apply UNISON’s welfare charity, There for You, has a long history dating back to the early 1900s and through UNISON’s predecessor unions. Unique among trade unions, it was created to be a source of support for those members of the union who had fallen on hard times. Speaking of its initial purpose, Debi Potter, vice chair of the charity’s board, says: “It was about bereavement, it was about relationship breakdown, it was about serious ill health that put people into a position where they needed to ask for assistance.” Now, after a decade of below-inflation public sector pay rises and the more recent cost of living scandal, the simple fact is that members’ pay often does not stretch far enough to make ends meet. “It is a very, very sorry state of affairs,” Debi says. “Employers are not giving the pay rises that our members deserve and that they need. So members are in a position where they are fi...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News cost of living there for you unison welfare Source Type: news