Trading profit vs non trading profit - Self employed income support

ABw345

Hi
I was self-employed for the last 15 years, except 08.2016 - 01.2019, then I was an employee for the same company and doing the same job, just changed the form of employment. Since 01.2019 I'm SE again and were working untill the lockdown. I've never combined employment and self-employment, always had only one source of income, was always paying my tax, and my overall profit, in any of the years, was never above £50K.
05.2016 - 08.2016 - SE 
08.2016 - 01.2019 - Employee 
02.2019 - present time - SE
I don't understand the genuine reason behind my non-eligibility for self-employed income support. I'm not employed and I can't do my trading. Any advice, please?

Jeremy535897

You don't give any figures for your business or employment, so it is impossible to check your eligibility. You were not self employed throughout the whole of 2017/18, so both the 50% test and the quantum of profits for calculating any grant are based on 2018/19 only. That means your self employed taxable trading income from February 2019 to 5 April 2019 must be at least equal to your other taxable income for all of 2018/19 for you to pass the 50% test.

The reason for your non-eligibility is that you became employed for part of the relevant period. If you were doing the same job for the same person, there must have been some other reason why your status switched from self employed to employed, and back again. I cannot think of one offhand.

ABw345

Thanks for your reply, Jeremy. I've switched in August 2016 from being a SE to an employee and in February 2019 I've left the company and I was working as SE.
04.2016 - 08.2016 - ( £12K ) as SE  and 08.2016 - 04.2017 ( £34K ) as employee
2017/2018 - ( £44K) as employee
04.2018 - 02.2019 ( £42K) as employee and 02.2019 - 04.2019 (£4K) as SE
I just don't understand this rule altogether... If I would work as SE and employee, at the same time, this rule would make some sense, as I would be able to get some help from my employer, but I had an income, only from one source at the time. Some people who work as an employee and self-employed at the same time earn £49K as SE and  £48.9K as an employee, are able to get support from E and SE schemes, but people in my situation can't get any support at all? How does this make any sense at all? Then time will come we all will have to pay this dept together in the form of taxes or any other way. 

Jeremy535897

Given the levels of your self employed earnings in 2018/19, any grant you would have received, even without the 50% test, would have been very modest. The grant was based on income up to 2018/19, because it would have opened the door to fraud to include 2019/20, which had not finished by the date SEISS was announced. The Chancellor said he couldn't save every job or help every business, and unfortunately your rather unusual pattern of employment v self employment has left you out of the grant. (I still don't understand how you can switch in and out of employment.)

ABw345

This scheme wasn't built in a very clever way... If PAYE earns more than £50K no probs, but if SE earns more than £50K and paying more taxes he is not entitled to get anything? People who start their SE after  04.2019 are not entitled. People who switched from employment to SE after 10.2018 are not entitled, in most of the cases, and many more other genuine people who are falling through that stupidly build safety net... What's the reason to compare incomes, why they are not looking for the total income,  history of employment an many other personal circumstances? If personal circumstances are opening door to the fraud, why couldn't it be dealt with? We are paying our taxes for that, exact reason...Very frustrating and disappointing....