Self Employed Help

SlickLFC

ok 1st of all I need to apologise for maybe not putting this in the right forum etc.  
Any how

I’m a Self Employed Driving Instructor and have some major concerns regarding what help and support there is with regards to others like me who are Self Employed and that maybe struggling with the major disruption that’s to be expected regarding This Coronavirus.

1st off I rely on the income I get from Instructing for our Families main income, this is what is used to pay all the major bills IE.. Morgage, Car Lease, Bank Loans etc.  
Now the issue I have is when we’re being told to self isolate and the fact this could goon for months, m worried we’re going to see a massive dip that’s never been seen before with regards people having disposable income to spend on learning to drive, this is going to have a knock on effect throughout many industries, however where some might get SSP, the massive shortfall in income could lead us to not have the funds to cover outgoing gs that would otherwise be covered comfortably. 

Can anyone offer advice on what is out there for Self Employed people like myself that feel worried about not necessarily contracting the virus but the massive implications this could have on our security with regards family and income related issues...
it feels like we have no choice but to keep on working and risking ours and our loved ones health due to not being financially able to self isolate for any reasonable length of time.  

Sorry for the long post, hope someone can help!  

Chris.  

Tildaplum

There was something about this on the recent BBC moneybox episode I think this is the right link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000g44q

Basically no help other than if your income goes down or stops you can claim Universal credit.

NedS

If you are employed, your employer will pay SSP. If you are self employed, and you have paid enough National Insurance contributions in the last 2 tax years (2017-18 and 2018-19) then you can claim New Style ESA, otherwise you will claim Universal Credit.

As you are self employed, some more information would be useful to determine which benefit is the right benefit for you to claim. Do you have a partner and/or children living with you? Do you rent/own your property? 

EDIT: this probably want's moving to the Benefits forum

SlickLFC

Thanks Neds. 
I’ve  been self employed for the past 10+ years, my wife works at our local hospital and we have to 3 Children living with us, 2 are our own 20/17 and the other is a friend of our daughters who was homeless so we’ve taken her in until she manages to sort out alternative living arrangements. 
We have 3 large bills that worries us the most, 1 the Morgage with Llyod’s, 2 a loan also with Lloyd’s, 3 a car business lease, all of these together comes close to £1500 a month. I’ve already seen a drop in income from my side and my wife’s wage certainly wouldn’t come close to covering what’s needed.  

colsten

You should contact your MP without delay and ask for help. Amongst a whole host of unprecedented stuff,Government need to do more to help self-employed through the Corona crisis. You can find out how to contact your MP here: https://members.parliament.uk/members/Commons