self employed

luijonathan

I finished working for a big energy company in December 2019 and started self employed with a new company in January would I be able to be re-employed by my previous company to claim government furlough as I have not been self employed long enough for the self employed furlough scheme?

[Deleted User]

yes

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-self-employed-and-employment-help/?utm_content=1585584664&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook,twitter

Hermann

No, you needed to be on the PAYE roll on 28 Feb 2020 to be considered for furlough.

luijonathan

So my only option is universal credit?

Jeremy535897

You can seek a mortgage break if you have a mortgage, look at council tax reduction, and see if you are eligible for universal credit. But I should ask for clarification on one point. You said you started self employment with a new company in January. This statement cannot be true. If you mean that you formed your own trading company which employs you to carry on its trade, you might be eligible for the job retention scheme, but only if you can do no work for that company (other than statutory duties) and you were on a HMRC registered payroll for the company at 28 February 2020 and you actually had taken some salary by then.

Hermann

Yes unless you currently receive any tax credits in which case that could leave you worse off.

mattyprice4004

It's important to note that most companies are (rightly) saying no to putting people back on the books - it's more admin for them, there's no guarantee the Gov won't do more checks and leave them out of pocket when they find you only came back to claim money from them. 

You left to go self employed, so you need to claim what you can elsewhere - universal credit is your next stop