To wonder why there hasn’t been a thread about the 4th SEISS grant?

[Oilseed]

Just that really, I’m disgusted at the way SE people have been treated. We’ve had no money since the first week in Dec. September and October last year were skipped completely yet that just seems to have been brushed under the carpet.

Where I am, we got put into lockdown on 31st October last year until 2nd Dec. We then got 2 weeks of no lockdown before being locked down again on 26th Dec until last week.

I’m SE, I’ve luckily still been managing to work throughout the pandemic but monthly income is down by £1,200 a month. I’m barely scraping £1000 a month now as Covid has hit my industry hard in the fact that people don’t really need my industries services as so many have been WFH.

I’ve been picking up Amazon delivery slots as and when I can, but they go like hot cakes as I’m guessing so many are in the same boat. My husband has had to pay my half of the mortgage for the last 6 months and I try and do the food shop and pay a couple of small bills with my wage but I’m barely able to do that anymore. The guilt each day is awful.

I’ve applied for 100’s of office based roles over the last few months and resigned myself to just giving up my business completely if I got one, but I’ve had no joy and again, I’m assuming competition is fierce.

I need this grant so badly yet I feel like I’m the only one as when RS announced on 3rd March that it would be paid in arrears late April / early May, when it’s meant to have covered Feb. March and April, none of my SE friends said anything other than ‘yeh it’s annoying isn’t it.’

I came on here expecting to see a thread but I didn’t and don’t remember seeing a subsequent one.

I know there’s nothing people can really do so you could argue what’s the point in talking about it but I just feel the SE, compared to the employed really haven’t been treated very fairly.

You can guarantee if the government stopped furlough for 2 months last year and expected people to just ‘survive’ there would’ve been national uproar. And if the however many millions of people that have been furloughed hadn’t received any money since the first week in Dec...again, 4 months later (probably 5 months after it’s actually been paid) people would be absolutely destitute.

It’s the 8th April, the exhaust has just gone on my car, I had to tax it last week and my insurance is up for renewal this weekend and I’m going to have to go my husband and ask to take money out of the joint pot because I just don’t have it, yet I need my car for work. I’ve just been sat here thinking, what would I have done if I didn’t have him?! A lot of people won’t be that lucky, it’s awful and I guess I just can’t understand why there hasn’t been more fuss made considering the amount of SE people in the U.K.

Yea it’s awful. I’m waiting for my 4th grant. Very lucky that it’s 2nd income but I’m not sure what they expect people to do. They must be signed on to UC.

I'm a SE single parent of two teenagers with additional needs. A year in lockdown and tier 4, in and out of education, has had a really detrimental effect on their MH to the extent I am now struggling to work anywhere near my usual hours because of all the appointments and additional support they need.
The 4th grant can't come quick enough (hopefully before my mortgage is due to be paid).

Yes, self-employed people have been shat on. This government is very hostile towards the self-employed, despite the rhetoric about entrepreneurship etc. I can't wait to see what hideous taxation changes lie in our near future too. I'm waiting for the next SEISS payment. My husband has missed out completely as one of his largest clients in 2018/19 (a government department ffs) insisted on paying him through PAYE, even though it was a self-employed contract and he had none of the benefits of employment, and no opportunity for furlough. There's been a lot of media attention paid to the so-called Excluded like him, and a certain amount of discussion in the Commons about how exactly they're supposed to survive, but absolutely zero acknowledgement from the Chancellor of the dire straits they've been left in.

YANBU to be disgusted at the position self-employed people have been put in but YABU to expect anyone on MN to be awake to it. The responses on the last thread I remember about this displayed extraordinary levels of ignorance and legendary amounts of hate for us money-grubbing, tax-dodgers.

Yanbu still waiting here too. Dh made redundant so we’ll be relying even more heavily on the next one.

Latest article
It should happen later this month

www.google.com/amp/s/inews.co.uk/news/politics/budget/self-employed-grant-4th-payment-seiss-application-when-apply-date-next-hmrc-895706/amp

It's really poor, the whole thing has been a mess.

Glad I’m not the only one to think it’s poor! I was genuinely starting to believe I was unreasonable for feeling the way I do!

Can you imagine the uproar if employed people had been told, en masse, that their furlough amount would be based in part on their income 4/5 years ago, that they'd miss random months, and there'd be a solid income threshold above which you would get absolutely nothing?

They’ve said the reason why the 4th grant is not till late April is due to those that were not eligible last year and had to file tax returns so that they could claim this year. The tax office is now busy going through these to assess if they are eligible. But all past grants have been done online, so I don’t understand why there is a problem as no actual person has to do anything in the majority of applications.

It’s awful. I’m earning nothing right now, having to refund clients who still need to cancel due to restrictions (I work in the wedding sector) so I’m negative every month. Desperately waiting and reliant on the grant and any ad hoc jobs I can get. Currently doing amazon deliveries too as well as working for the census but it’s barely making ends meet.

YANBU. Seems us SE people are second class citizens.
Not that I qualify for any of the grants or support though. Bugger all help for almost 13 months.

You’re not unreasonable - I think we all think it’s poor. But the government is standing by its argument that HMRC can’t cope with processing this and tax returns at the same time, and there was no traction to it as a news story, so I think we’re all resigned to it.

It’s really rubbish.

SE single parent here. Checking my emails every morning as I wake up as I'm hoping they might get round to it sooner than planned. My industry is pretty fucked. I'm a Sports Massage Therapist. Mobile/ working from home. Can't see me going back to it, tbh. I've been making soaps and shampoo bars instead, but it all feels a little but desperate. Part of my spirit and ambition has died inside, as I only retrained 8 years ago and I'm wondering which way to turn, with so many people being in the same boat. 49 yes old.. retrain again? Or just do mundane stuff for the foreseeable. Crap choice, either way. And I'm not usually a negative person, my energy is just drying up.

Also 5th grant looks to have a few extra hops to jump through. I think I'll still qualify, but the 'hardship tick list' bears no resemblance to those who've been on furlough.

Had email today saying can apply.

I think you've hit the nail on the head regards your DH. I'm in a similar boat, my income is down by about £2k per month, but we still have DH's income, and also we have our adult DD living with us (teacher) who earns good money and pays board. I've managed to keep my business ticking over, but it would have been so much harder without the other 2 incomes. Indeed, someone else in the area who does the same job as me, has lost all of her customers and her house! Scary! Having said this, I do think the Government have supported the nation rather well. 80% is pretty good!

SE for over 6 years but I have taken another job since the last grant. I am however still trading and covid has reduced my SE by at least 80%hence having to get another job (minimum wage PAYE)

A friend mentioned that as far as she knew I wouldn't be allowed to claim the next seiss grant because I now have another income separate to my business. Does anyone know if this is the case?

@Dingleydel

Yea it’s awful. I’m waiting for my 4th grant. Very lucky that it’s 2nd income but I’m not sure what they expect people to do. They must be signed on to UC.

I thought your main income had to be from self employment to claim the grant? Maybe I've picked it up wrong though...

It has to be more than 50% of your income to qualify for a grant

@StatisticallyChallenged

Can you imagine the uproar if employed people had been told, en masse, that their furlough amount would be based in part on their income 4/5 years ago, that they'd miss random months, and there'd be a solid income threshold above which you would get absolutely nothing?

Well said. People need to know and understand the real reasons behind the excluded 3 million. It's been a disgrace that Rishi has been allowed to give the impression that those 3 million are excluded because of fraud or very high earnings etc which isn't the case at all for the vast majority who have been honest and paid taxes etc for many years or decades. It's Rishi's illogical scatter gun approach that's the problem.

@Florabella

It has to be more than 50% of your income to qualify for a grant

In the past qualifying years yes. Stupidly it's not what your're doing now that matters, it's what you were doing in the 19/20 tax year, hence why so many have been excluded illogically by the 50:50 rule. Rishi seems to think no one's circumstances change and so what they earned12-18 months ago affects whether they get support now or not. As another poster said above, imagine the outcry from employees if furlough had been done like that!

Well I’m still bloody well excluded, haven’t had a penny at all since the first lock down, literally nada, and before anyone tells me I must qualify, I don’t, excluded on the 50:50 rule as some of my freelance work was paid paye. I’ve had to move into a different field which has put huge pressure on us as a family and without my dh I wouldn’t have been able to do it as he’s had to pick up the childcare for the unsocial hours I’m now working. Makes me sick to see how many people have seen able to qualify for so much help... I have friends who were claiming full Seiss last year who weren’t self employed anymore and had just taken full time paye so qualified for furlough as well... they’ve all been buying fucking houses with no stamp duty this last year. The system is shit.

Yanbu
I think the SE are always treated badly. It’s hard! No holidays, no sick pay, no pension.
I’m sorry you’ve been in such a horrible situation this past year.
For me things have picked up recently and now schools reopen it is much more like a normal year so I’m unsure whether to claim this 4th one but I have claimed for the others. It only takes one of my kids to have to isolate though and it will really affect my business. But i shouldn’t really claim until then? But given that I’ve had to muddle through and stay up till 1am to manage my workload my DH thinks I should claim? Also we don’t really know what’s around the corner.

“I thought your main income had to be from self employment to claim the grant? Maybe I've picked it up wrong though...”

I’m pretty sure it was 2nd income as in, not the main earner.

My DP’s wages have actually subsidised my business at some points this year...nevermind just paid household stuff.

I’m slightly worried that the terms for this 4th grant are actually relating to the same period last year, which actually covers the first lockdown... I’ve claimed it anyway, but it’s pretty unclear whether it means that or previous years.

@StatisticallyChallenged

Can you imagine the uproar if employed people had been told, en masse, that their furlough amount would be based in part on their income 4/5 years ago, that they'd miss random months, and there'd be a solid income threshold above which you would get absolutely nothing?

Totally this !!!!

Agree

I’ve been se for 11yrs

The seiss grant originally was made up of 16/17 17/18 18/19

Two of the tax years I was on ml split

I have paid a lot of tax over the years but taken on those years I got very little seiss

Then last payment was think nov for Nov dev jan

Payment should have been feb but they made us wait nearly 3mths for the next one

Yes I’ve now had the 4th payment as of end of April and payment went in early May

I was on maternity leave (of sorts! Who can afford leave when they’re se!) during the qualifying period too. It makes me really mad that this affected what I was entitled to and that year’s profit was way below what it would normally be.