The increase has been implemented to reflect the extension of the furlough scheme for employed workers to the self-employed, aiming to support self-employed workers who cannot trade or have suffered reduced demand due to the outbreak, over winter.
In the House of Commons yesterday (Monday 2 November), Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We have already paid out £13.7bn to help the self-employed and for November, we will double our spend from 40 to 80% of trading profits.”
The grant is calculated over three months meaning it increases from 40% to 55% of trading profits for November to January and the maximum grant rises to £5,160. The claims window is also being brought forward from 14 December to 30 November.
Eligibility criteria
To qualify for the grant, self-employed licensees must have been previously eligible for the first and second round of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (although they do not have had to claim the previous grants).
They must also declare they intend to continue to trade and are either currently actively trading but impacted by a reduced demand due to coronavirus or were previously trading but are temporarily unable to do so because of coronavirus.
This followed Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announcing the grant amount last month (October) had increased from 20% to 40% of previous earnings.
Rapidly changing
On the latest increase of the grant, Sunak said self-employed workers had so far received £13.7bn of support to help get them through the crisis and promised to do everything possible to help livelihoods.
He added: “The rapidly changing health picture has meant we have had to act in order to protect people’s lives and I know this is an incredibly worrying time for the self-employed.
“That is why we have increased the generosity of the third grant, ensuring those who cannot trade or are facing decreased demand are able to get through the months ahead.”