How we work

We begin as soon as we receive your completed application form. We will contact the nearest National Union of Journalists’ (NUJ) branch. If there is a local branch welfare officer, they will contact you to help in any way they can as well as to tell us about your circumstances.

The chair of NUJ Extra may then be able to make a decision quickly about how best to help. In addition to helping with grants or paying your bills, this may include offering debt counseling or other services. We provide temporary help to most applicants but we may offer long-term help to some dependants, making regular payments to top up your income.

The trustees produce a set of guidelines to help the chair make these decisions. You may read these in full at the bottom of this page.

The chair’s decisions are called 'interim' and must later be endorsed by the trustees. That means the chair may offer short-term help with the trustees later adding to that. If there are unusual aspects to you application, the chair may not be able to make an interim decision and will refer your application to the next full meeting of the Trustees.

Trustees meet four times a year. At these meetings the trustees also look again at recent applications and may offer further help. Once a year the trustees also review our guidelines, setting the income levels we aim to provide to our long-term beneficiaries.

Please bear in mind that the chair and the trustees are all volunteers, not paid staff of NUJ Extra. You will be kept informed as quickly as possible.
Link: For further information see how can we help you.

We may also suggest you apply to the Journalists’ Charity for additional help. We often work with the Journalists’ Charity to ensure we provide the maximum help we can. Link: The Journalists’ Charity (opens in a new window)

Guidelines 2007-2008

1. All grants are discretionary.  In exceptional circumstances, the grants set out below may be varied by the Trustees.

2. Applications for help from NUJ Extra will be considered from dependants of deceased NUJ members, members of the NUJ, ex members of the NUJ who have retired or left in good standing.  In all cases, the NUJ member must have paid not less than one year’s full contributions to qualify for assistance.  Former members whose membership ceased because of lapsing or expulsion, shall not normally qualify for help, unless extenuating circumstances are established to the Trustees’ satisfaction.  The Trustees act as the Management Committee of the Fund.

3. (i) The basis of assistance shall be need, taking into account the income and reserves of the applicant.

(ii) An applicant may be awarded a one-off grant to cover immediate need and/or a weekly/monthly grant.  This will be at the discretion of the Trustees.

(iii) At the discretion of the Trustees, expenditure arising from any disability shall be taken into account.

(iv) A beneficiary who is in receipt of continuing help will normally receive a grant which will bring his/her income to £175 per week, plus £90 per dependant

(v) An applicant shall not normally receive a grant if his/her reserves exceed £12,000.  In the case of each dependant of a beneficiary, this figure shall be increased by £2000.

4. All continuing grants shall be reviewed at least once a year by the Trustees.

5. If the applicant owns the house in which he/she lives, the value of that house shall be ignored in calculating reserves, but any rent received from letting shall be included in the weekly income.

6. All capital reserves and income must be declared and beneficiaries must apply for all state, company, insurance or other benefits to which they are entitled.

7. With regard to continuing beneficiaries, to ease the transition when the applicant ceases to be dependant, the necessary reduction in income may be made in three instalments.

8. Beneficiaries receiving grants for equipment will be informed that it’s theirs to keep.  However, should equipment costing more than £500 become unsuitable and/or no longer needed, they will be asked to inform the Fund in case it is needed by another NUJ beneficiary.

9. Applications should normally be endorsed by the member’s branch welfare officer and/or branch or chapel committee unless the member, ex-member or dependants, live in an area not covered by a branch.

10. The Chair may make awards between meetings to cover emergency need.  These must be endorsed by the next meeting of the Trustees.

NUJ Extra is based at the NUJ's head office in London. The address is: Headland House, 308-312 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8DP.

If you have any questions regarding how we can help, please contact our administrator, Lena Calvert, on 020 7278 7916 or by email

Link: National Union of Journalists (opens a new window)