return of the minimum income floor?

kellygirl14

Does anyone know when this is coming back for the self-employed? I'm getting nightmares thinking about it because it is the thing which is going to finally send me under.
I started my 12 month's exemption in October 2019 and so really only got 5 months of it to try and get off the ground before Covid struck. Do you think they might extend my exemption - mine and people in a similar position? 
All thanks

calcotti

The regulations currently allow for suspension of the MIF until 13th November. Obviously the government have the power to extend this if they choose to.

kellygirl14

Oh - that's very soon! Maybe the UC people will extend on individual basis every now and again - even if it is not officially extended. Fingers crossed. 

calcotti

kellygirl14 said:

Oh - that's very soon! Maybe the UC people will extend on individual basis every now and again - even if it is not officially extended. Fingers crossed. 

I don't think there is any legal basis for them to do that, however we will just have to wait and see.

NedS

We are expecting some kind of announcement soon. So far it's been very quiet and no guidance has been forthcoming.

Were you already subject to the MIF before Covid-19? If so, I would expect it to be reapplied from 13th November. Anything else is likely a bonus for you.

calcotti

NedS said:

We are expecting some kind of announcement soon. So far it's been very quiet and no guidance has been forthcoming.

Were you already subject to the MIF before Covid-19? If so, I would expect it to be reapplied from 13th November. Anything else is likely a bonus for you.

OP said their 12 month period of no MIF started in November 2019 so would under normal rules end in October which unless we get new announcements suggests they would be subject to MIF from 13th November. We don’t yet know, even if that applies, whether MIF will be applied from start of AP in which 13th November falls or to the AP commencing after 13th November. 

NedS

calcotti said:

NedS said:

We are expecting some kind of announcement soon. So far it's been very quiet and no guidance has been forthcoming.

Were you already subject to the MIF before Covid-19? If so, I would expect it to be reapplied from 13th November. Anything else is likely a bonus for you.

OP said their 12 month period of no MIF started in November 2019 so would under normal rules end in October which unless we get new announcements suggests they would be subject to MIF from 13th November. We don’t yet know, even if that applies, whether MIF will be applied from start of AP in which 13th November falls or to the AP commencing after 13th November. 

If OP were in their 12 month startup period then I would think it would be possible to argue for an extension as they were unable to fully take advantage of their startup period due to coronavirus. But that said, until we have some official guidance, we are just guessing at the moment. We will need some guidance within the next 6 weeks and I keep hearing rumours of a pending announcement so hopefully we will have something solid sooner rather than later.

missfreshpastures

So what on earth will happen when the MIF free period ends and all these businesses still can’t earn the minimum income due to the global pandemic?

surely they won’t cut everyone’s benefits otherwise there will be huge hardships 

poppy12345

missfreshpastures said:

surely they won’t cut everyone’s benefits otherwise there will be huge hardships 

No one knows what they will do yet because there's been no announcements.

tomtom256

There is no extension available to a start -up period and from September all new claims were due to get a startup period regardless of how long they had been self-employed.

It is currently unclear when the DWP intend to re-introduce the MIF as no guidance has been updated yet.

NedS

missfreshpastures said:

So what on earth will happen when the MIF free period ends and all these businesses still can’t earn the minimum income due to the global pandemic?

surely they won’t cut everyone’s benefits otherwise there will be huge hardships 

Just like every other business they will need to take a long hard look at themselves and decide if they continue to be viable. If they don't then they will fold and the employees become unemployed and look for a new job like everyone else. As the Chancellor said, he can't save every job and every business, and it is not the job of the benefits system to use tax payers money to prop up failing businesses. There are various grants and loans available to support those businesses outside of the benefits system.