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Welfare reform- self employed to be denied universal credit?

2 replies

Charlottejbt · 12/11/2010 18:02

It's in the white paper- you won't be allowed to declare very low earnings and receive the max amount of WTC, as people do now. Instead you will be treated as earning the min wage for the hours you declare, and your benefits reduced accordingly. If you declare fewer hours worked, you will be subject to the same conditionality as those on JSA (presumably workfare, weekly signing on, etc.)What the hell do we do now?! I was waiting for the dust to settle after the election/spending review/welfare reform white paper before I launched a home- based business, but now it looks like there's no point trying to help yourself because the govt will just come and take it all away from you. Obviously that's a worst case scenario- it's not law yet- but I'm wondering whether I should bother, under the circumstances. What are other self employed mums on WTC doing about this? Can we do anything? I will write to my MP (David Gauke who is something to do with the DWP luckily) but they may have made their minds up already.

OP posts:
Jellykat · 12/11/2010 22:38

We Should ALL be writing to our MPs.

How can we be available to work,as in the criteria of JSA, AND set up businesses? I went self employed 10 months ago,and go forward one step, back one step,some weeks earning nothing,but doing the legwork to find outlets!

It's sick-There is another thread along the same lines i've posted on.

But YES we must do something!

stubbornstains · 17/11/2010 16:01

Just adding my support....

Yes, it's got me in a panic too, because of course I assume you'd have to cover your business expenditure and THEN come up with this minimum wage amount...DS is currently 9 months old, so I'm working 16 hours a week...I've figured out I'd have to earn at least £150 a week, and these last 6 weeks I've earnt....nothing. (Yes, I know, I'm seeing a business mentor tomorrow, and hopefully we can rethink the whole thing).

It's massively massively unhelpful and a huge disincentive to small business startups (very un-Tory, I'd have thought!).

However, I posted about this on another thread, and was kindly informed that it won't come in for at least 2 years- and is only a white paper, so could change a lot before it becomes law.

I wonder if the Federation of Small Businesses are going to intervene?

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