Self Employed - Cornavirus - Wait till lockdown ends ?

shap101

 

Can anyone please give me some advice.

I am sole trader working from home selling restore cameras and musical instruments  online  .

sales have taken a massive hit since march  due to the Coronavirus and social distancing regulations  as I do get asked quite often to view the items before purchasing .

It’s now been over 4 weeks now ( 3 of which I had to do self isolation ) and like many other selfemployed have been living solely off my savings and its getting a bit tight especially as I have people wishing to view items which I cannot allow .

My concern is come June I will not get any sort of grant , as from what I can gather self employed are told to keep working in a safe but responsible.  

Sorry to ask as I know a lot of people are suffering but like most independent traders there is very little support and have just been told that HRMC will be in contact if I eligible for a grant.

calcotti

If your income is low you may be able to claim Universal Credit.
Information here https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/. 
Claim online https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim

There are online calculators to help you assess entitlement  https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

You will be excluded from claiming UC if you have capital/savings over £16,000.

Be aware that claiming UC will end any Tax Credits, Housing Benefit or other means tested benefits you currently get.

You may also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction from your local council

sliphi

shap101 said:

 

Can anyone please give me some advice.

I am sole trader working from home selling restored musicals instruments and cameras online  .

At the beginning of March I pulled all my stock from various websites due to the Coronavirus and social distancing regulations ( panicked a bit ) as I do get asked quite often to view the items before purchasing and also  was worried about sourcing boxes since all the music shops would be closed .

It’s now been over 4 weeks now and like many other selfemployed have been living solely off my savings and its getting a bit tight.

My concern is come June I will not get any sort of grant , as from what I can gather self employed are told to keep working in a safe and responsible way.  

Sorry to ask as I know a lot of people are suffering but like most independent traders there is very little support and have just been told that HRMC will be in contact if I eligible for a grant.

Where do you operate this online business from?
Can you not just add a warning to your website that physical viewing is no longer possible at your address at this time? Usual distance selling regulations (whatever they are referred to now) continue to apply.

Jeremy535897

Put messages where you can on websites saying you will be up and running again as soon as possible. The eligibility criteria for the grant (ignoring the 50% test and £50,000 cap) are as follows:

• have submitted your Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19
• traded in the tax year 2019-20
• are trading when you apply, or would be except for COVID-19
• intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020-21
• have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19

I guess the two I have highlighted in bold are the ones troubling you. The first one should be OK. Third party evidence like I suggest should help with the second. 

shap101

Thanks for taking the time out to reply. 
I have (at moment)  savings over the limit which was supposed to be used for a house deposit so am unable to claim UC and do not claim any other benefits...
I work from home with just an online store which I have updated saying I am nolonger allowing viewings  . 
Shipping could now be an issue as dropping parcels off could be classed as non essential travel . 
 I have been a soletrader for the last 6 years and completed my tax return for every yearb.  

calcotti

shap101 said:

Does anyone know  if I would eligible for self employed grant as it would take alot of stress off my shoulders. I have been a soletrader for the last 6 years and completed my tax return for every year.

The rules are set out here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme
Read it and see if you qualify. 

shap101

Just an update on the situation, still currently living off my savings which have taken a massive hit and still no wiser to where I stand .  I do fulfil all the criteria concerning the SEISS grant and been told that the HRMC should / maybe be in contact by mid May  .

If i am not eligible will they let me know or do I just sit and wait ?

Also if I was to restart selling but on a much smaller scale just to keep myself busy and free up some cash ( small items posted ) would it affect my eligibility  ?

Like a lot of people I feel in limbo, which is especially irritating when I am trying to abide by the regulations when a lot of “private” sellers are not.

Jeremy535897

The grant is not dependent on stopping your self employed work. In fact the reverse is true. Continuing your self employment helps you fulfil one of the criteria for the grant. The only time it could be a problem would be if you did so well that you were doing better than you were before the pandemic.

Hermann

The situation for the self employed is straightforward, keep working.
Work from home if you can, if you can't then go to work and observe sensible distancing and risk reduction.

At no point have the self employed been told to stop working.

The SEISS will provide support to those self employed who continued working but have suffered a loss of trade due to Covid-19. Exactly how that is to be measured and evidenced is not yet known but that will be based on the form that those eligible will receive.

It appears from the current
 guidance that those self employed who simply choose to stop working will not be eligible to apply for the SEISS.

So just follow the guidance, do what work can be done for now and then if you receive an application form the answers you provide will determine if you qualify for a payment. 

Do what you can to remain eligible to apply, ie: continue trading.

Grumpy_chap

Why can't you just list everything for sale as much as before the coronavirus, and add a note that viewing in person is not currently possible?  Maybe you could add to do telephone calls to answer any queries and / or personalised video walk-round of the items to help win the sale.

Shipping is possible, you can take items to the Post Office or other delivery providers such as Hermes.

shap101

Thanks so much for the reassurance and advice ,  I'll concentrate on the smaller postable items for now  , I did update my website on the socical distancing rules but it killed alot of the sales as most people wish to view / play beforehand and was getting a bit stressed turning sales down because the buyers did not want the item posted .

Thanks again .