When the Chancellor announced the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) on 26 March, it gave vital support to much of the UK’s self-employed. Rishi Sunak said “It targets support to those who need help most, offering the self-employed the same level of support as those in work.”
The scheme, paying a grant to cover March, April and May in a single instalment allowed eligible self-employed to claim up to 80% of their average monthly trading profits, using an online service between the 13 and 18 May. Payments were made by 25 May.
An extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has already been announced. It remains unchanged until the end of July. From August to October the scheme will continue but with changes expected to allow employers to bring back furloughed employees part time and to ask employers to contribute to the cost of furloughed salaries. Further details are expected this week, with Rishi Sunak taking to Twitter on 26 May saying he would launch Phase 2: Flexible Furloughing this week.
Despite a clamour of calls for extensions to SEISS we have heard nothing as yet. Understandably the self-employed are calling for parity.