Read on Twitter
1/11 OK I still don’t understand why self employed people are being treated as less deserving/in need than employed people.
2/11 Furloughed staff get 80% of their entire earnings from govt (& in a lot of cases 20% from their employer so they lose £0 for not working during this time -which is absolutely the right thing, and what everyone deserves- it’s a fucking pandemic & no one should have to work!
3/11 As they are not working they won’t be incurring any expenses related to work. Self employed people get 80% of our profit as opposed to our earnings. This means we get 80% of what me make after our expenses have been deducted.
4/11 So already a freelancer is receiving less cash than someone employed who earns the same as them. If you then consider that it& #39;s likely that even if a self employed person stops working completely they& #39;re still likely to incur expenses- subscriptions, insurance, bills etc -
5/11 that they cannot cancel just for the three months the govts support covers them for. That means a freelancer is receiving even less than their salaried counterpart.
6/11 If you then consider that even if business has been severely disrupted/stopped due to covid-19 a freelancer still needs to work on their business so they maintain clients, make contingency plans, adapt for a new market etc.
7/11 This means that a freelancer is likely to incur new expenses which again lessens the amount of money a freelancer receives compared to their salaried counterpart and they are still having to work.
8/11 If you then consider that at the end of this crisis there is absolutely no guarantee or legal obligation that a freelancer will have any work at all.
9/11 If you then consider that the govt’s freelance support scheme is a one off payment that only covers three months where as the furlough scheme runs for twice as long. It does begin to feel like freelancers have very much got the short end of the stick.
10/11 This is all obviously if you are actually eligible for the scheme in the first place, which many, particularly early career freelancers, aren’t.
11/11 An employed person who started their job three months ago gets furloughed with govt support so why does a freelancer in the same position get NO support?! I know this has all already been said but applying for freelance support has brought up all these feelings again END
CONTINUED: @maisonfoo just informed me that if you took paternity leave as a freelancer in the last 3 yrs this is counted in your average profit calculation, meaning that those freelancers average profit will be way less than the reality!
CONTINUED: an employed person who took paternity does not receive a reduced furloughed wage so why should a freelancer!!
CONTINUED: same applies for if you took time off work for long term illness.
CONTINUED: via @CWMadge you’re not eligible if your SE income is less than 50% of your income. So in a best case scenario, people on a PAYE/SE split are expected to live off 80% of 50% of their average income.
