COVID-19: ARE YOU SELF-EMPLOYED? IS THIS THE DEATH OF SEISS?

Rishi Sunak

Never ask a QTWAIN.  A headline with a Question To Which the Answer Is 'No'.  I can get away with this headline because I am genuinely concerned that Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, is leaving everyone to fend for themselves.  Businesses, employees and the self-employed.  Sink or swim.  As if the COVID-19 disease is about to disappear, yet of course it isn't the way things are going.

 

FOR EMPLOYEES

For employees, the JRS (Job Retention Scheme) is being wound down by the end of October and replaced by the JSS (Job Support Scheme).  The JSS is a scheme to support part-time work, replacing the JRS Furlough scheme designed to protect employees who were not working at all for their employer.  Now expecting people to be working.

The net effect for employers is that the JSS is not as attractive as Rishi indicated.  The concern is that it may be far less useful than hoped to the point of being  useless.  There's various scenarios.  As an example, if an employee works for a third of the normal time, "firms must pick up 55 per cent, [one third of normal wages/salaries plus a third of the remainder, 22%] compared to 20 per cent under furlough. It has sparked fears that many businesses will simply lay staff off instead of taking it up".  It's complex, but indications are that employers won't use JSS, so the employees won't benefit.

 

FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED

The same concern of being virtually useless applies to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).  In broad terms:

• Support is dropping from 70% (originally 80%) to only 20% of relevant earnings

• The next quarterly payment seems to be planned for November, three months after the last.  The implication is it is for November to January (with a fourth payment for February to April), whereas the August payment was June-August (after the first for March - May).  That may well mean two months monies unpaid at some point in the future, by comparison to employees.
  

• Eligibility has not been broadened, so the many 'self-employed' who were not eligible before will still not be included

• Indeed eligibility is being REDUCED.  There will be two new conditions, both of which remain to be defined by Government:
• "Actively trading".  So potentially the next instalment of SEISS will not be available to people not working, whether that is in closed industries or otherwise not having clients
  
• And "Impacted by reduced demand"
  

Is this the death of SEISS?  Some people will benefit, but only a little, and it will be worthless to many.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?

There are other schemes to help organisations, but these are not as generous as might be hoped.  The bottom line is that support for those industries that are not viable NOW, but would be viable if the legal restrictions were to be lifted, are effectively being left to die.  This applies to theatres, concerts, gigs, nightclubs, zoos, sports and a whole raft of other businesses and organisations.  So sad!

The people employed by such organisations, and the self-employed usually involved, will be left with having to seek support from Universal Credit.

I do hope the Government has a change of heart.

I'm not the only one concerned.  This article echoes the dreadful effect on employees and the self-employed.

 

WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE?

We must take stronger action against COVID-19 to get closed organisations like theatres open for business.  That's why I have been thinking the unthinkable to have a short, sharp complete "circuit break" to get down to a very low level of infections,  #NearZero.  That would allow much of the economy to reopen strongly,  reduce deaths, and get life back to near-normal.

How to do a full short circuit break in the form of a Mass Self-Isolation is 'germinating' through discussion with colleagues.  Nothing yet has been identified as a 'showstopper'.  Difficult issues, certainly, but nothing impossible.  

An idea worthy of further consideration and debate, to find the best way to unlock the economy and let us get back to near-normal.  Before the country we love is destroyed.