IPSE: new SEISS flexibility for parents is very welcome, now it’s “a small step” to extend this to other “desperate, struggling groups”
- 17 Jun 2020
IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has welcomed the government announcement that it is making the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme more flexible for parents. It has said that from here, it is a “small step” to extend this flexibility to “desperate, struggling groups” that also need more support.
The government changes announced today mean that soon, self-employed parents who took parental leave in 2018/19 will be able to claim SEISS based on “either their 2017-18 or both their 2016-17 and 2017-18 self-assessment returns”.
Alasdair Hutchison, Policy Development Manager at IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), said: “This important change resolves an unfair glitch in the system and will help a significant number of self-employed parents claim the support they need.
“This move also shows it’s possible for the government to be more flexible with the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). It should now be a small step for it to extend this flexibility to other desperate, struggling groups like people who went self-employed in the last year.
“We also urge the government to look again at the issue of freelancers working through limited companies. There are at least 710,000 of these people across the UK who have had little to no support during this crisis. Fewer people than expected have drawn down on SEISS: we now urge the government to use these extra funds give support to this vital and forgotten group.”
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