Self-employed people struggle during wait for coronavirus support package

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Struggling self-employed people are still waiting for the Government to come up with a “deliverable and fair” coronavirus support package.

Boris Johnson’s Government has come under sustained pressure to provide financial help for self-employed workers, who face a dramatic loss of income if forced to take time off for sickness or quarantine.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs it is “incredibly complicated” to design a system to support the self-employed but insisted that intensive work is going on in Whitehall.

So what are the current support options for self-employed people?

The government has announced a 6 month deferral on self-assessment payments Credit: PA

Defer tax:

Self-assessment payments due on the 31st July 2020 will not now be payable until the 31 January 2021. This is an automatic offer with no applications required. No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.

Most self-employed earn below the threshold for registering for VAT (£85,000), however, VAT will also be deferred for the next quarter. This is estimated to save businesses around £30bn

The government has decided to support self-employed people via the benefits system Credit: PA

Sick pay:

Despite widespread calls to provide statutory sick pay for the self-employed, the Government has decided to support them via the benefits system. This means that they'll have to rely on Employment and Support Allowance and/or Universal Credit.

The weekly payment for ESA is typically £73.10 or £57.90 for people under the age of 25. Credit: Job Centre

Employment Support Allowance:

You may be entitled to employment support allowance if you're sick. ESA gives you:

- Money to help with living costs if you’re unable to work.

- Support to get back into work if you are able to.

The weekly payment for ESA is typically £73.10 or £57.90 for people under the age of 25.

You can apply whether you’re in or out of work. There are conditions to working while claiming ESA.

You cannot get ESA if you are claiming: Statutory Sick PayStatutory Maternity PayJobseeker’s Allowance

Mr Sunak has said that he is raising the payments for Universal Credit Credit: UK gov

Universal credit:

You may also be entitled to some sort of universal credit. Mr Sunak has said that he is raising the payments for Universal Credit so that the self-employed receive the same amount as someone on statutory sick pay (£94.25 a week).

The Universal Credit minimum income floor, which applies to people who've been self-employed for more than 12 months, will also be suspended. This means that self-employed people will now be treated the same as employed people within the Universal Credit system.

Mr Sunak says ministers are “in dialogue with all the key stakeholder groups” to discuss a support package for self-employed people.

Some MPs have warned that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plan to pay up to 80 per cent of workers’ who faced being laid off does nothing to help freelancers, contractors and the self-employed.

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis said the economy could face a “fatal seizure” if they were not protected.

Shadow Environment Secretary Luke Pollard urged the government to increase statutory sick pay and give more support for the five million self-employed in the UK.

He told ITV News: "There needs to be support in particular for the five million people who are self-employed in our country. So lots of progress made, but much more to be done."