Rishi Sunak
Self-employed construction workers suffering a hit to their income from the coronavirus pandemic have been given a boost by chancellor Rishi Sunak.
He has announced a package of support which involves paying a taxable grant to the self-employed or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
Initially, payments from the so-called Coronavirus Self-employment Income Support Scheme will be available for three months in one lump-sum payment, and will start to be paid from the beginning of June.
It will be open to those who were trading in the last financial year, still trading now, and who are planning to continue doing so this year.
The scheme is open to those with a trading profit of less than £50,000 in 2018-19 or an average trading profit of less than £50,000 from 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. But those who are recently self-employed and do not have a full year of accounts will not receive any help under the scheme.
Alex Smith, head of construction at law firm, Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Finally, the chancellor has done what the UK construction industry has been crying out for. Those with trading profits up to £50,000 a year will be able to apply for a grant of 80% of their average monthly profits, up to £2,500 a month, for three months up to the end of May (and paid in one lump sum in June). The monthly profits will be calculated using average monthly profits over the last three financial years.
“With self-employed workers forming the backbone of the construction sector, this news will come as a huge relief to all those who felt excluded from the government’s generous support packages so far.”
