IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), has welcomed the government’s announcement today of a “historic lifeline” of financial support for the UK’s self-employed.

While the package will provide “essential support” for the majority of the self-employed, IPSE has pledged to keep working with the government to extend measures to all freelancers in need during the Coronavirus outbreak.

The measures announced today by Chancellor Rishi Sunak guarantee self-employed people who work as sole traders and earn up to £50,000, 80 per cent of their income. This will be based on their last tax return.

The measures will be welcome to most of the self-employed, especially given recent IPSE and People Per Hour research that shows over two in five (43%) say that without support they might have had to close their businesses in the next three months. On average, they said they think their savings could cover them for 22 weeks if they had to stop working (although among sole traders this is lower at approximately 14 weeks).

Derek Cribb, CEO of IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) said:

 “We welcome the fact that the government has heeded our calls and actively worked with IPSE in designing a historic lifeline of financial aid for the self-employed.

“This will offer essential support to the many hard-working self-employed people across the country who are losing projects and contracts because of the Coronavirus outbreak.

“We understand this is an immense and complex undertaking, and urge the government to get this vital support to freelancers as soon as practically possible.

“This is an unprecedented package and a very welcome response to our campaign for freelancers and the self-employed.

“While this assistance is practical and wide-ranging it does not, however, cover all self-employed people. We will keep working to fill in these gaps.

“With our mission to support and promote the work of independent professionals and the self-employed, we will keep striving to stop those in need from being left behind.”