Free practical financial wellbeing resources

Are money worries affecting your mental wellbeing – you are not alone.

We understand how financial pressures can take a real toll on your mental health, relationships, and overall wellbeing. That’s why, in addition to our financial assistance services, we now offer free, practical financial wellbeing resources.

This includes a new workshop (developed in partnership with Rebel Finance School) and access to the Rebel Finance School course—resources designed to help you build confidence and navigate common financial worries and concerns.

Find out more here

Grants for Essential Living Expenses and grants for one-off costs

We aim to empower individuals to improve their financial wellbeing. Our charity takes a holistic approach to support, considering all the relevant services that may help you. Through our partnership with Citizens Advice Manchester we can provide quick referrals to specialist advisers for confidential advice on benefits and debt.

Help with benefits

Help with debt

Our grants offer one-off financial assistance or longer-term support for those struggling to meet their essential daily living expenses. . Before applying, please check our full Eligibility Criteria to ensure you meet the requirements.

Read our full eligibility criteria

Grants for pharmacists

Having a professional career doesn’t make you immune to money worries – and all the stress that can bring.  Pharmacists experiencing financial difficulty can apply for our Essential Living Expenses Grant with support available up to a maximum of £6,000.  Please see below for grant eligibility and how to apply.

Eligibility for a grant and how to apply

You are eligible to apply for financial assistance if you meet the below criteria.

Pharmacists (including retired pharmacists) – any individual whose name is or has ever been on the Register of Pharmacists maintained by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) (or formerly maintained by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain)

The following people are ineligible to apply for a grant from Pharmacist Support: –

• Those who meet the eligibility criteria but are living outside of GB.

What can the Essential Living Expenses grant be used for?

We can consider helping with essential costs such as:

• Financial support for essential daily living expenses (such as bills, food, travel costs, rent costs) due to unexpected temporary income loss following illness, relationship breakdown or suspension from the GPhC register.
• help towards an unexpected one-off essential cost such as essential household appliances/household appliance repairs over £300
• disability equipment
• nursing/residential care costs,
• or other unplanned issues.

What can the Essential Living Expenses grants not be used for?

Pharmacist Support does not generally provide financial help for costs including:

• legal costs (including visa costs)
• tax arrears
• major household repairs/renovations (beyond remedying a particular issue to the fabric of the building) such as replacement windows, roofs, new bathrooms, or kitchens
• private healthcare

Please see our eligibility criteria for the full list of exclusions

 Eligibility Criteria

Do savings affect eligibility?

Yes – applicants with total household savings (applicant/spouse/partner only) of more than £6,000 (including money, stocks, shares, savings and second homes over the previous 90 days)  are not eligible for this grant.

Do grants need to be paid back?

No. Grants awarded by Pharmacist Support do not need to be repaid.

Our financial assistance service is funded entirely through charitable donations. Many people who have received support choose to give back in the future when their circumstances improve, helping us continue supporting others facing financial difficulty.

Before you start and documents you need

Before starting the online grant application, please ensure you have the supporting documentation listed below that are relevant to your situation.  These will need to be uploaded and submitted with your application:

• 3 months bank statements in full, as up to date as possible, for all bank accounts held in the applicant’s name and if applicable those of a spouse or partner. Bank statements should be as a pdf document, not screenshots, and have full clear information with no redactions. Your application cannot be processed without this.
• 3 months statements, as up to date as possible, for all credit cards held in your name.
• Evidence of rent or mortgage arrears or copy of tenancy agreement (if applicable)
• Copy of all debt repayment plans (if applicable)
• 3 quotes if the application is for a one-off cost for e.g a disability aid, etc.
• Medical reports or fit notes if applying due to reasons of illness.

How to apply for the Essential Living Expenses Grant

Accessing Financial Assistance through Pharmacist Support is straight forward. All you need to do is:

1. Check eligibility criteria thoroughly
2. Register on our secure online Grants Portal (below) and complete each section step-by-step (this includes uploading supporting documentation)
3. We will check your eligibility and if supporting materials are missing or we need further information to assess your application, we will contact you
4. We aim to process your application and notify you of the outcome within three weeks.

NOTE If we identify a need for benefits or debt advice, you must access our Specialist Advice Service before receiving a grant. It would be helpful for the processing of your grant application form if, prior to applying, you have already checked and applied for all benefit entitlement that you, and the household if applicable, are eligible to receive.

Any grant provided by the Charity is done so at the discretion of the Charity’s Trustees and there is no statutory or other right for an individual to receive a grant.

Go to the online grants portal

Contact us directly

If you are having difficulty using the online grants portal or if you need help filling in the application form, please email [email protected] for further assistance.

Contact us

Urgent Support Grant

Urgent Support Grant (Pharmacists only)

We understand that unexpected financial burdens can create stress and uncertainty. Our Urgent Support Grant provides up to £300 for pharmacists facing an urgent one-off unexpected cost for essential item(s) that the applicant is not able to meet. The purpose of the grant and its easy application process is to provide prompt consideration of financial support to alleviate the stress of an unexpected essential cost which may impact wellbeing.

Please check our full eligibility criteria before applying

Eligibility Criteria

Key features of the Urgent Support Grant

• Quick access to alleviate financial stress
• Not means tested – no financial evidence is required.
• One application per 12-month period (maximum three Urgent Support grants can be considered within a five-year period)
• Evidence/receipts required for your purchase.

Important: We reserve the right to remove the Urgent Support Grant at any time.

What can this grant be used for? 

This grant is for an essential item(s) needed for daily life – for example:

• Essential household appliances/household appliance repair
• Essential car repairs
• A necessary piece of furniture (eg. a bed)
• School uniforms
• Urgent essential plumbing repairs

What can’t the grant be used for? 

• Debt repayments (including to family and friends)
• Non-essential items such as birthday gifts or cosmetic procedures
• Household bills (including mortgage and rent)
• Items already purchased.
•  GPhC fees – requests for help with GPhC fees, and other related professional fees, must be applied for using the Essential Living Expenses grant.

How to apply for an Urgent Support Grant

To apply for an Urgent Support Grant, please complete the form below. We will consider your application and get back to you within five working days.

Grants for dependents of pharmacists

You may be eligible to apply for our Essential Living Expenses Grant with support available up to a maximum of £6,000.  Please see below for grant eligibility and how to apply.

Eligibility for a grant and how to apply

You are eligible to apply for financial assistance if you meet the below criteria.

A widow/widower or former long-term partner of a pharmacist or other dependant of a pharmacist – a dependant is defined as follows: –

• The spouse/civil partner of the applicant. In assessing whether the relationship is long-term, consideration will be given to a range of factors, including whether the partners share a household, the length of time the relationship (minimum five years) has existed and any joint commitments or responsibilities (financial or other)
• a child for whom the pharmacist (or their partner) is legally responsible and who is under 18 or under 19 if in further education and is dependent on their parent or guardian for financial support
• the child of a pharmacist who is over 18 but, due to physical or mental disability, is dependent on his/her parent for financial support.

The following people are ineligible to apply for a grant from Pharmacist Support: –

• Those who meet the eligibility criteria but are living outside of GB.
• We cannot accept grant applications from the spouse or partner of a pharmacist while still in the relationship. The pharmacist should be the primary applicant when requesting financial help for the household.

Go to the online grants portal

Further financial support

We also have lots of information on our website within our financial health area and how to find alternative funding. Additionally, we may be able to support you to manage debts and secure benefits entitlement. If you are unsure whether an application for financial assistance is the best route, you can contact us to find out about what other support might be available.

Additional help with financial difficulties, further support and information can be found in the finances area of our website.

Go to the finances area