Our Workforce Lead Kris Ambler says the Chancellor鈥檚 announcement of financial support for the UK鈥檚 self-employed during the coronavirus crisis will be welcomed by some.

But he says for many others the measures will fall short of a guaranteed minimum income and present difficulties in structuring their finances until the payment arrives.

The Chancellor鈥檚 announcement comes after we joined IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, and many other organisations in calling for the Government to implement a Temporary Income Protection Fund to support the self-employed.聽聽has been signed by more than 160,000 people.聽

We鈥檝e also joined forces with UKCP and BPC in lobbying Government to ensure there鈥檚 a workforce to deliver a comprehensive mental health response to the crisis;聽to tackle labour market barriers and direct the public to the very best mental health support.聽.

We鈥檝e put together a page of聽business-related FAQs to help our members, and we have new paid opportunities being advertised on our jobs board, a resource available only to our members.

Working hard

Kris said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e working as hard as we can for our members, under testing circumstances, doing all we can to represent their needs at this incredibly difficult time.

鈥淭hrough our active campaigning and work with employers we鈥檙e doing all we can to improve the employment landscape, but we won鈥檛 rest on our laurels, there is still much more to do.鈥�

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak guarantee self-employed who have been adversely affected by coronavirus a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to 拢2,500 a month.

This scheme will be open to people across the UK for at least three months and will be extended for longer if necessary.

The Chancellor said the scheme will be available at the beginning of June at the latest. If you鈥檙e eligible, HMRC will contact you directly and ask you to fill out an online form, and then the money will be sent directly into your bank account.

Anyone who missed the deadline in January has four weeks from the announcement (March 26) to submit their tax return.聽 For more details, visit the Government's聽.

Uncertainty

Kris said: 鈥淢any self-employed people will be relieved. These new measures will provide essential support to those facing significant uncertainty and loss of income.

鈥淥ur members聽make an immense contribution to our society聽and聽will play a critical role in the UK鈥檚 recovery once we overcome the worst of the virus.聽

鈥淗owever, for many others these measures聽won鈥檛 go far enough or come soon enough.

鈥淧eople who won't be helped by this scheme are those who structure their聽arrangements,聽so they trade via a limited company or a personal services company.

鈥淭he聽biggest problem聽though聽will be聽how聽our members, many of them self-employed,聽will structure their finances to wait until June for this payment to arrive.

鈥淔or many the measures announced聽last week, which include delaying the next self-assessment tax payments and ensuring that self-employed people on low incomes can access up to 拢94 a week through the benefits system,聽fall聽some way short of聽calls for a guaranteed minimum income to support self-employed people during these troubling times.鈥�

Help navigate

Adam Pollard, our Product Manager, added: "We鈥檙e working hard to help our members navigate their way through the crisis.

鈥淭o this end we鈥檙e proactively engaging with employers keen to extend their existing employee support, offering telephone and online counselling to remote workers and those in isolation.

鈥淭hese paid short-term opportunities are all advertised on our jobs board, a resource only available to 香港六合彩精准资料 members.鈥�