30 Apr 2020
New mothers and the over 60s are amongst the groups most likely to miss out on the government's Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), according to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE).
Research conducted by the IPSE revealed a 156,000 increase in the number of self-employed people over the last year. This total includes 83,000 over 60s, 25,000 new mums and 38,000 50-59-year-olds. The SEISS is unlikely to help most of these people because it is only open to self-employed people who filed a tax return for the year 2018/19.
Commenting on the figures, Chloé Jepps, Head of Research at the IPSE, said: 'In 2019, more and more people were going into self-employment for the freedom and flexibility this way of working provides – the freedom to fit your work around your life rather than the other way round. Now, however, these people's incomes are drying up and, because of a flaw in the government's support scheme, most are not getting the help they need to keep their businesses afloat.
'The government must get the newly self-employed – as well as limited company contractors and others who are missing out – the help and support they need. We urge the government to extend the SEISS to people who became self-employed in 2019/20 – and use this year's tax returns to get them the financial assistance they need.'