COVID-19 Protection for the Self Employed workforce

Good news for the concerned self-employed workforce who were looking on nervously as the Chancellor announced the momentous steps being taken to protect the income of employees. At the second reading stage of the Coronavirus Bill, the House of Commons has proposed an amendment under the heading of “Statutory Self-Employment Pay”.

The proposal is to ensure that anyone who is regarded as “freelancers” and “self-employed people” should receive guaranteed earnings representing the lower of:

(a) 80% of their monthly net earnings, averaged over the last 3 years, or

(b) £2,917 per month.

This will come as a huge relief to the self-employed workforce, particularly given the Prime Minister’s tougher stance on lockdown.

I’ll post further details on the mechanics of this once available, however on speaking to someone within HMRC, the Job Retention Scheme portal is hoped to be operational within the next day or so.

If you want to speak to anyone within the employment team, then please contact Graham Millar (gmillar@gilsongray.co.uk, 07841 920 102) or Stuart Robertson (srobertson@gilsongray.co.uk, 07793 821 523).

The information and opinions contained in this blog are for information only. They are not intended to constitute advice and should not be relied upon or considered as a replacement for advice. Before acting on any of the information contained in this blog, please seek specific advice from Gilson Gray.