Help for the self-employed hit by the Coronavirus

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, has just announced that the self-employed  facing financial difficulties will now be able to claim up to 80% of their monthly wages covered by the government.

This will be subject to the same cap as employees being furloughed at £2,500.00 per month and will last initially for 3 months, although this period can be extended.

The monthly wages will be calculated using the average monthly profits of those self-employed over the last three financial years.

It will be made available to those who are already self-employed and have a tax return for 2019 and will apply to individuals with trading profits of up to £50,000.00 per year. According to the Chancellor, this will see the majority benefit from this new initiative.

This change makes a drastic turnaround from the criticism that the UK Government has not done enough for the self-employed, who have often been referred to as the ‘forgotten lot’ in this pandemic crisis.

The news is greatly welcomed and now treats the self-employed with the same parity as the employed. This will be accessible in June but will be backdated.

Our thanks to Liberty Law Solicitors for the use of this article.