IPSE: Self-employed left “trailing far behind employees” in Coronavirus measures
2 min read
IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), has warned that the government’s Coronavirus response measures leave the self-employed “trailing far behind employees”.
IPSE has said that although there is unprecedented support for employees, the government has done “nowhere near enough” for the self-employed. It has urged the government to provide better support by creating a Temporary Income Protection Fund. This should provide temporary, targeted grants to replace a proportion of the income lost by freelancers.
Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy at IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) said: “Despite unprecedented measures to support employees, the government has still left the self-employed trailing far behind.
“The government has done nowhere near enough to support the self-employed. In fact, instead of supporting freelancers to help them keep their businesses going, it is pushing the self-employed into the benefits system. Worse, in the benefits system, the amount of money available will simply not be enough to cover many freelancers’ costs.
“In this drastic and grave situation, we urge the Prime Minister and Chancellor to match the steps they have taken for employees and create a Temporary Income Protection Fund for the self-employed. This should give a temporary, targeted cash injection to the freelance businesses that are struggling most – a financial boost to make up for lost income and keep them afloat.
“We urge the government to act on this and we urge anyone affected to sign our petition to make this happen.”
