Before you start your application form to receive financial support from The Drinks Trust, you'll need official documents and information to complete your application. Please make sure that you have all of the required documents to hand before you start. You will NOT be able to save a partially completed application form.

The application process will take about 30 minutes to complete, so make sure you have enough time as once you have begun, it cannot be saved. If you log off you will be asked to start again from the beginning.

• Your National Insurance Number
• Your net income for the last three months
• You must demonstrate that you have worked, or have been working, in the industry for 3 years or 5 years part-time. You must be able to supply evidence such as: 

1. a payslip per year worked in the industry
2. P60 for each year of working within the industry to demonstrate 3 years full time or 5 years part-time employment
3. an official employment letter clearly stating the employment dates (beginning and end)

• If applicants are unable to obtain the requested payslips or P60s, they should contact HMRC to retrieve their employment records. Please refrain from submitting the financial support application without the aforementioned documents, as The Drinks Trust will be unable to proceed with the assessment of the case.
• You will also need to give us copies of any relevant documents, including bills that you need help with (i.e. council taxes, utility bills, etc)
• Applicants who are able to demonstrate that they have critical bills in arrears will prioritised. This does not mean that your application will not be considered if you are not in arrears, but most successful applicants are able to evidence arrears of some kind
• When appropriate, the charity will pay any money awarded directly to the source of debt (e.g. landlord/utility company) so we will need the supplier or landlord/housing bank details or your bank details where any financial grant should be paid if it will be paid directly to you
• The financial assessment will be processed through Open Banking. Please read carefully the Open Banking section below as we will not accept applications submitted without the use of Open Banking unless the exception was granted by our Welfare Team

Our financial support is available to all members of the UK drinks hospitality industry, both past and present, working in any role and segment. However, to qualify for financial support, applicants must be able to demonstrate hardship.

The Drinks Trust is also able to help immediate family, on a case by case basis

Applicants must be able to demonstrate time having worked for a business that derives all, or some of it’s income from the sale of alcohol in any aspect of the drinks industry including:

• Beer / Wine / Spirits / Cider / No & Low / Any drink part of the adult drinking repertoire
• In any organisation in the drinks industry from point of production to point of sale, including education and media
• On trade
• Independent retailer

• Any role involving production, distribution, sales, marketing and promotion of adult drinks
• From point of production to point of sale in the adult drinks repertoire.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate an appropriate length of service.

APPLICANTS Must currently work, or have worked for 3 Year full time OR 5 part-time in the drinks hospitality industry at some point in their career. 

Applicants in any of the following situations will be considered for financial support:

• Working
• Furloughed / Redundant
• Retired
• Unemployed
• Claiming benefits

• Applicants who are able to demonstrate that they have critical bills in arrears will prioritised.  This does not mean that your application will not be considered if you are not in arrears but most successful applicants are able to evidence arrears of some kind

• Applicants for financial support must be able to demonstrate hardship. The Drinks Trust use the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standards calculator but as a guideline only. Each application is assessed based on individual financial circumstances

• Applicants will NOT be eligible for an emergency grant if they have savings of £1000 or more
• Where applicants for further financial support have savings, priority will be given to those who have £2000 or less
• Value of applicants’ house is not considered when assessing eligibility
• Anyone over the age of 18 is eligible to apply
• The financial assessment will be processed through Open Banking. Please read carefully below

• The Drinks Trust may be able to help immediate family, on a case-by-case basis with the exception of educational grants which are not open to immediate family.
• The Charity is not able to offer support for divorced or separated partners based on their ex-partners’ service but will consider support for dependents in any circumstances. Assessed on an individual basis.

During the application process, you will be asked to give permission for us to read every bank and savings account at your name through Open Banking. Please read carefully the Open Banking Tool document. 

Open Banking is a new tool that helps make us better, safer and faster decisions when assessing grant applications. By having access to 12 months of activity on your main current account we avoid having to ask you to send your bank statements, payslips and bank details. This is the way we use to assess grant applications, so we had the same information, but it took long periods of time to look through it all, which is costly and means we spend more money and time assessing when we could be giving it away as grants.

So please trust in us to look after your information safely and confidentially and make better, safer and faster decisions on how we can help.

If you do not wish to use Open Banking, you must contact our Welfare Team prior to submitting your application to receive further instructions on the process. We will not accept applications submitted without the use of Open Banking unless the exception was granted by our Welfare Team. 

Further information about the support provided can be found in our Welfare Policy. If you have any queries, please email The Drinks Trust Welfare Team.

The financial application assessment process normally takes around 2-4 weeks.