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Original poster

The Self Employed have been forgotten by the Government

97 replies

HuskyloverI · 21/03/2020 08:54

Employees will receive 80% of their salary, up to £2500 per month.

The Self Employed will receive Statutory Sick Pay only, which is £376 per month.

This can't be right, can it? Am I missing something here?

OP posts:

ChazP · 21/03/2020 08:58

You’re correct.
And deferment of the next tax bill until January 2021. Which just delays the agony and means I’ll be twice as much in debt this time next year.

Ohffs66 · 21/03/2020 08:59

As far as I can see you have to have a sick note to be able to claim that as well! DH is s/e and has had no income for a month or so and that is likely to continue. I can't work out if there is anything he can claim if he's not actually sick, it doesn't look like it. We are lucky in that we can just about cover all our outgoings on my salary and some savings but that will only be the case for so long.

madroid · 21/03/2020 09:00

I'm sure they'll be announcing something more next week.

Obviouspretzel · 21/03/2020 09:02

It's a big hole in the response so far. As far as I can see, you can only claim if you are actually ill or subject to the same means tested requirements as usual i.e. if your partner works, then you will not be able to claim.

Sleepyquest · 21/03/2020 09:04

It's crap. DH is self employed and I'm on mat leave. We cannot live off £594 a month plus the £376 unless they froze more bills :(

Thescrewinthetuna · 21/03/2020 09:05

It’s a fucking travesty

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2020 09:06

My DH is a self employed decorator and is booked up for the next three months. He was worried people might cancel but so far his customers have been really good and have said they appreciate he needs their custom more than ever in the current climate. He assures them he washes his hands before entering properties and wipes down all doors and surfaces before he leaves. It’s a worry though that this might change in coming weeks and his business will suffer. It’s a case of sitting and waiting to see what’s going to happen.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 21/03/2020 09:08

My business has been forcibly closed by the government and I’m still not entitled to anything. How is this fair?

itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted · 21/03/2020 09:10

What do you expect the government to do?

They can't guarantee self employed wage as in most cases it fluctuates significantly and is open to abuse of people claiming they are earning much more

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 21/03/2020 09:12

They know how much we earn, we complete tax returns. One if which is due in the next few weeks.

Gobbolinothewitchscat · 21/03/2020 09:14

You can take an average earnings over the last 3 years for guaranteeing income. How do you think self employed people get mortgages?!

Money saved for tax must be disallowed as “savings” for calinjng UC. They are not savings, they are deferred HMRC payments.

There is an imbalance here. Self employed people are only allowed to defer tax payments whilst the employed are getting guaranteed income with no requirement to pay it back. There is no point deferring tax bills. People will quickly get into a death spiral and not be able to pay either the deferred tax bill or the next one coming - particularly if the economy has tanked

TheABC · 21/03/2020 09:15

@Sleepyquest, is your husband an LLC or sole trader? Just asking; as an employee of a company, he might be able to claim something.

I am keeping my 2 long term clients ticking over in the evenings but letting go of the smaller contracts. I can't work with the kids around: that's why I had childcare in place! It's so fucking frustrating to see your business suffocate under this pandemic.

Ohffs66 · 21/03/2020 09:16

80% of last years earnings subject to the same £2.5k cap as the employed seems fair! Wouldnt be a huge amount for us but would help significantly.

BlueGheko · 21/03/2020 09:16

Not just the self employed. Single parents who can't go to work but haven't been laid off appear to have been forgotten too.

Caramel78 · 21/03/2020 09:19

I’m self employed and this situation is a complete nightmare for me. My mental health is going to take a serious bashing

Lockheart · 21/03/2020 09:20

I don't think the self employed have been forgotten about, I think it's just a bit more complicated to put something in place for them and it might take a bit longer.

HMRC hold ready records of employees monthly status through their employers (or even weekly, if the company's payroll runs that often). It's easy to say "that person is employed by X business at that date on that salary, therefore we can give them 80%".

Similar records do not exist for the self employed - HMRC only get data on your income and status once a year, which relates to the year which ended 9 months ago, when you file your self assessment. So they don't know how much income you're getting at the moment under normal circumstances.

I think something will have to be put in place, they just need to work out how to do it.

Sleepyquest · 21/03/2020 09:20

@TheABC sole trader :(

We were in such a good position, had the perfect plan to cover all costs whilst I was off work and now it's gone to pot!

Wondering if I should go back to work but think I'd look like a right CF right now!!

TheABC · 21/03/2020 09:29

@Sleepyquest, so sorry to hear that. :-(

You may have to go back, unfortunately. You are not a CF, but someone doing her best for her family.

The only bright spot is that your DH still has his skills/equipment/reputation intact. Get through this period and pick it up again on the other side.

dejavuAgain · 21/03/2020 13:17

I guess that the self-employeds' lower taxes mean you're expected to prepare for such situations.

user1497207191 · 21/03/2020 13:20

SE havn't been forgotten about. Announcements will be made in the next few days.

The 80% grant for employers/employees was urgent to stop firms making staff redundant and needed to be announced at the same time pubs, cafes etc were told to close.

S/e isn't as urgent - a few days will make little difference - expect an announcement Monday or Tuesday.

Hingeandbracket · 21/03/2020 13:20

I guess that the self-employeds' lower taxes mean you're expected to prepare for such situations.
Tell more more about my "lower taxes" ?

undercoveraessedai · 21/03/2020 13:23

@dejavuAgain you do realise the self-employed pay identical tax rates to the employed, don't you? Plus extra NI on any profits over a certain amount?

BigChocFrenzy · 21/03/2020 13:24

SInce its so complicated to calculate individual income for each self-employed person,
it would be sensible just to assume NMW and give each of them 80% of that

savethecat · 21/03/2020 13:26

Yes, this is terrifying.
We are BOTH in self-employed/freelance businesses. Mine has taken a dive as its face to face and DH's has been closed by the government. Income is now zero but we still have to pay insurances etc (and living of course). Neither of us owe tax as we paid it all off in January so deferring payments means nothing to us.
Maybe one of us can apply for the £94 a week but other than that, we are screwed.
Yes, we can go and work in the supermarkets of something but that also means we will be leaving our failing businesses unattended so will be even worse off when the supermarket job is over and we come back to no business at all.

savethecat · 21/03/2020 13:29

I am quite worried about the suicide rate amongst self employed people to be honest/ We have already lost 2 friends to suicide related to money troubles (not COVID related).

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