Self-employed benefit from Sunak’s coronavirus package
New benefits, such as lump-sum cash payments, will be available to self-employed individuals but will not be immediately accessible
The UK Government has announced measures to support self-employed workers with new benefits and tax cuts, which have been mainly greeted by industry.
“The Government’s announcement is a welcome, if limited, step towards evening out the support available for workers across the economy,” said Duncan Swift, president of R3, a trade body, in a statement.
“The limitations do stand out. The self-employed will have a sizeable gap to bridge between now and June when the help will actually be available. That could be too long to wait for those with no safety net.”
Under the new measures, self-employed individuals can apply for a grant under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), similar to the furlough schemes available to other businesses, worth 80 percent of their typical trading profits.
As with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the SEISS grant is capped at £2,500 per month, but the self-employed can continue to work while receiving this assistance.
In a government statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The package for the self-employed I’ve outlined today is one of the most generous in the world that has been announced so far.
“It targets support to those who need help most, offering the self-employed the same level of support as those in work.”
The SEISS is only available to those earning under £50k per year, only available for three months, and will not be deposited by HMRC until June in a lump-sum.
Additionally, any grants will be taxable, subject to declaration on January 2022 tax returns, and those company owners who pay themselves out of the business are not covered under this scheme.
“Although the devil will be in the detail over the coming days, this is welcome help for the self-employed, although the Chancellor did heavily hint that the self-employed may have to pay for this help in the future by way of harmonisation between National Insurance paid by employees and the self-employed,” Colin Askew, partner at Eversheds Sutherland, said in a statement.
The UK Government has asked that self-employed workers do not contact HMRC on this matter, as the authority is using “existing information to check potential eligibility,” which will be followed by direct invitations to the scheme.
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Any self-employed individual already benefitting from coronavirus support measures will continue to receive those benefits while the SEISS is being rolled out.
