Industry bodies representing the UK’s freelance sector have been critical of the Winter Economy Plan unveiled in September by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, in lieu of an Autumn Budget. One organisation said that contractors had been left “stranded” by the plan.
The headline policy of the plan is the Job Support Scheme, which will in effect replace the Coronvirus Job Retention Scheme. The job retention scheme, otherwise known as furlough, had already proven controversial over whether it applies to limited company contractors.
Responding to the new Job Support Scheme, Joanne Harris, Technical Manager of the SJD, said that it had “very little of interest to PSC contractors”. Harris added that it was “not clear yet” whether contractors would even be eligible for the scheme.
According to Seb Maley, CEO of Qdos, meanwhile, the Chancellor’s measures mainly “offer support to businesses with employees”. Maley continued: “Millions of people working for themselves via their own limited company have had very little to no support for six months now.”
“Yet it will be these independent workers who will prove crucial to the UK’s economic recovery — they will provide businesses with flexibility and skills at a time when they need them more than ever.”
One announcement made in the plan that directly concerns contractors was the extension of SEISS, or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. However, while it was extended, grants were reduced to 20 per cent of earnings, a move described by the IPSE (Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) as “inadequate”.
Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy at the IPSE, said: “The self-employed sector has already seen a record drop in the first half of 2020 because of the unnecessarily large gaps in government support. The self-employed are vital for the economy and will be essential for economic recovery, but to play their part, they must get the support they need now. Government must do better for them.”
Author: Steven English
15.10.2020
