The Hardship Fund — a guide
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-02)

A guide to applying for a payment from the Hardship Fund. The fund helps low paid workers who are victims of crime.

Introduction

What is the Hardship Fund?

The Hardship Fund (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-hardship-fund) (the Fund) is for workers who are temporarily unable to work because they were a victim of a violent crime and their injuries are not covered by the tariff of injuries (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme-injury-payments) in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme-2012) (the Scheme).

The Fund is discretionary and is designed to ease the financial hardship of people who have no other help with money from their employer or from public-funds, such as Statutory Sick Pay (https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay) (SSP).

A payment from the Fund is based on the current weekly rate of SSP. It will cover from the 4th to the 28th day of absence, if the applicant has been unable to work for at least 7 days in a row .

The maximum payment is capped at the equivalent of four weeks’ SSP, minus the first 3 days.

The Fund applies to people injured in England and Wales and is capped at £500,000 in total every year.

The Fund is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/criminal-injuries-compensation-authority) (CICA) after an application is assessed by Victim Support (https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/help-and-support/what-you-can-do/compensation/hardship-fund/) and then referred to CICA.

Eligibility

The crime and your injury

You could get a payment if you were injured in England or Wales on or after 27 November 2012 because you were a direct victim of a crime of violence.

Annex B of the Scheme describes what is a crime of violence for the purpose of this Fund.

You must report your injury to the police as soon as possible and we must receive an application to the Fund within 8 weeks of the date of the incident.

Your injury must have stopped you being able to work for at least 7 days in a row.

If your injury is eligible for compensation (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme-injury-payments) under the Scheme you cannot get money from the Fund.

Your criminal record

If you have an unspent criminal conviction any payment may be witheld or reduced.

Annex D of the Scheme explains the type of criminal convictions which would prevent you from receiving money from either the Scheme or the Fund. The most common examples are custodial sentences and community payback orders. For less serious convictions, a payment will be reduced or withheld unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Applicants will not generally have their payments reduced if they have motoring offences and 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.

Your finances

You must earn less than the minimum amount needed to qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). You also must not receive SSP or a similar scheme through your employer.

If you receive, or have applied for, Employment Support Allowance (ESA), you will need to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/change-of-circumstances) of your change in circumstances immediately.

Any payments made from the Hardship Fund will be considered when deciding the level of income-related ESA that you receive.

How to apply

We only consider applications that are referred by Victim Support (https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/help-and-support/what-you-can-do/compensation/hardship-fund/).

They will assess your eligibility first and can help you apply.

Victim Support is an independent national charity for people affected by crime. They give free and confidential support and practical help to victims and witnesses of crime.

You will need to give the following information to Victim Support to support your application:

a police crime reference number

a pay statement or letter from your employer

if you are self-employed, a copy of your most recent tax returns

a copy of a certificate (Fit Note) from your medical practitioner

If you were absent for 7 days in a row, 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.

When Victim Support have assessed your claim they will complete an application and ask you to give consent for the release of all records and other relevant information about you and your injury. This is then sent to us to assess.

How we will deal with your claim

When we receive a completed application from Victim Support, we will contact the police to confirm details of the incident and check your criminal record.

When we receive this information from the police, we aim to make a decision within 6 working days (Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays) of receiving all the information we need.

We will tell you our decision on your claim as soon as it is made. If we have reduced or refused a payment, we will tell you why.

How we will make a payment

We will only make a payment directly into your bank or building society account.