The group claims that the new business support 'misses the mark' for the self-employed as it is designed for companies with premises.
Advertisement Derek Cribb of IPSE said: “There’s no doubt the new lockdown measures will have a severe impact on the already struggling self-employed sector. The school closure is also likely to hit self-employed parents particularly hard, cutting into their working week.
“The new support package, aimed at businesses with premises, misses the mark and will do little to mitigate the financial damage to the self-employed sector. After almost a year, there are still drastic gaps in the support available to the self-employed, with over 1.5 million sole directors, newly self-employed people and others still excluded.
“We urge the Government to work with business groups to plug these gaps and get support to freelancers in need over the coming months. We are keen to work with government to find a solution and make this right.”
Qdos - 'Right thing'
Freelancer tax specialists Qdos also called on the Government to do ‘the right thing’ for small business owners and introduce suitable Coronavirus support for the millions who do not qualify for the existing schemes.
Qdos CEO, Seb Maley, said: “This lockdown could force millions of small businesses to close for good if the Government doesn’t step in and provide the support they desperately need. Come March, millions will have spent an entire year battling the pandemic without any financial help.
“These sole traders and directors of limited companies have been deliberately ignored, despite the Chancellor promising that nobody would be left behind and despite the Government having been given solutions - the Director’s Income Support Scheme being one.
“It’s time the government did the right thing and rolled out tailored support for the freelancers, contractors and small business owners who still, even now - after nearly a year - are being tragically overlooked.”
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2021
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