Self employed - benefits after closure of buisness

downsizer3

Hi.
I've been self employed for about 16 years - good times and bad.
This time around I'm getting very close to the edge and am seriously considering closure.
Once I've paid off my staff I'll have a few buttons left but at least I won't owe anyone anything - in business terms at least.
My query - once all is done - and I'm looking for work - will I get any JSA or anything? I'm a single mum with no savings to speak off (trying to deal with that).
Obviously I'll put my feelers out before D day but jobs are hard to come by as we all know - just trying to understand what help I get, if any.
Thanks.

HappyMJ

JSA (Job seekers allowance) income based. If you weren't making much profit and can't see it improving then it's a valid reason to close it down and claim JSA. You need to have no or low income and low capital (less than £16,000) to claim.

downsizer3

Certainly no profit this year - first ever - and not much capital to speak of by the time I've paid redundancies I guess.
Thanks for that.

missapril75

It'll help your application if you get something from your accountant to confirm no longer in business and details of any assets remaining (depending on the nature of the business).

downsizer3

Thanks for that - yes my year end accounts will be there for all to see!! Thanks for the advice.

missapril75

downsizer3 wrote: »

Thanks for that - yes my year end accounts will be there for all to see!! Thanks for the advice.

But they may not show you're no longer in business and any value of any assets.:)

downsizer3

I'm thinking of closing down at my year end - the accounts then show the final figures after redundancy costs, profit share ( such as it is) and our capital account figures - so yes - it'll all be there. It will be a closing figure effectively. I'll need run-off insurance, ongoing rent until sub-let / lease end etc - so something will have to remain in the pot to deal with that.
Thanks all helpful stuff.

missapril75

downsizer3 wrote: »

It will be a closing figure effectively. I'll need run-off insurance, ongoing rent until sub-let / lease end etc - so something will have to remain in the pot to deal with that.

Yes, that's what I was getting at.

As long as it all appears obviously final, rather than scaling down. I realise ending a lease early may not be an option but a large amount in the pot and a continuing lease of premises you operated from could give an impression business is continuing in some form. That's what you need to guard against.

You'll be the expert on what business you've been running and you'll know what needs to be in place to run it, but that won't necessarily be true of all businesses and it may not be as obvious to other people - including the person at the job centre dealing with you.

Self employed/busines type cases do get special attention when it comes to claims. The more you can make things clear to someone less familiar with running a business the smoother things run for you.

downsizer3

Thats all great advice thanks again. Time to get my stall in order - just want to get out before I get into debt - that is NOT an option!!

themull1

If you have staff, are you not an employer rather than self employed?

Loopgames

themull1 wrote: »

If you have staff, are you not an employer rather than self employed?

She is both. She still has to fill a self assessment as well.