AROUND two million people with some self-employment income will not have it covered by a UK Government scheme aimed at supporting them financially, a think tank claims.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said it was inevitable that measures put in place quickly to deal with the impact of Covid-19 were not as well targeted as expected in normal times.
It said Westminster’s Job Retention Scheme (JRS) and Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) were generous on average, replacing more than 80% of net family income for employees and the self-employed, but gaps in provision mean some will get no support at all.
The IFS expects that 1.3 million people with some self-employment income will be ineligible for the SEISS because they received less than half of their income from self-employment.
Around 225,000 will be ineligible because their self-employment profits were more than £50,000 a year, while 650,000 will fail to qualify because they started their business after April 2019, it is claimed.
Stuart Adam of the IFS said: “Some will fall through the gaps completely, including high earners and the newly self-employed, and others will see only part of their overall earnings covered, including many who combine self-employment with employment or whose business is set up as a company.”
Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for an urgent rethink, stating: “It is unacceptable that carers, those on shorter working hours, and new starters who began work after February 28 are not covered by the job retention scheme, and that two million self-employed people are not covered by the self-employment package.
“We urge the Government to consider proposals that we have put forward to adjust the support schemes so that no workers are left behind in this time of deep anxiety.”
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