Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7] > | Coronavirus: the situation for UK-based sole traders Thread poster: Tom in London
| Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2008) Italian to English
There doesn't appear to be anything in yesterday's Budget to safeguard translators working as sole traders. Or did I miss something? | | | Agneta Pallinder United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2014) Swedish to English + ... According to the BBC | Mar 12, 2020 |
What benefits were announced for the self-employed who get coronavirus or have to self-isolate? Simone Tyler People who are not eligible for sick pay, particularly the self-employed, will be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from day one of "illness" rather than day eight. ESA is paid to those who are too sick to work, provided they meet certain conditions. It is worth £73.10 a week, or £57.90 for the under-25s. The complexity of this benefit may me... See more What benefits were announced for the self-employed who get coronavirus or have to self-isolate? Simone Tyler People who are not eligible for sick pay, particularly the self-employed, will be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from day one of "illness" rather than day eight. ESA is paid to those who are too sick to work, provided they meet certain conditions. It is worth £73.10 a week, or £57.90 for the under-25s. The complexity of this benefit may mean this change is unlikely to affect a lot of people. Councils will also have access to a hardship fund to help vulnerable people in their area. However, many self-employed people face a higher tax bill from April, when the so-called IR35 rule is extended to the private sector. That could mean thousands of contractors and freelancers will pay more tax. The government is also temporarily removing the minimum income floor from universal credit. The minimum income floor would have taken into account how much you would normally expect to earn in a month, when calculating your entitlement to universal credit. Not having the floor means they will be able to claim for time they spend off work due to sickness. Mr Sunak said they would not need to attend a job centre, and could apply on the phone or online instead. The government has also announced a new £500m fund to support economically vulnerable people - this will be allocated by local authorities. ▲ Collapse | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2008) Italian to English TOPIC STARTER
What if you're not sick - but your business is suffering because there's no work coming in?
[Edited at 2020-03-12 09:43 GMT] | | | Eva Stoppa Germany Local time: 05:07 English to German + ... Measures taken | Mar 12, 2020 |
What interests me in this context, are the measures taken by UK government so much stricter from those in European Union countries? Flights from the EU to the U.S. are cancelled, while those from the UK are not. | |
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Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2008) Italian to English TOPIC STARTER
Eva Stoppa wrote: What interests me in this context, are the measures taken by UK government so much stricter from those in European Union countries? Flights from the EU to the U.S. are cancelled, while those from the UK are not. Trump seems to think that there is no Coronavirus in the UK. | | | Agneta Pallinder United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2014) Swedish to English + ... No use at all | Mar 12, 2020 |
And, I should add to what the BBC tells us, that in my view these measures are of no use at all for translators getting work from international clients, whether direct or via agencies. How to prove that my months of reduced income (if they happen) are due to the virus outbreak and not just to ordinary demand fluctuations? | | | Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 05:07 Spanish to English + ... Keep calm and remember BoJo | Mar 12, 2020 |
With that 350 million quid a week extra for the NHS he talked about, seems to me there should be plenty to go around for contingencies. | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2008) Italian to English TOPIC STARTER Other similar | Mar 12, 2020 |
Agneta Pallinder wrote: And, I should add to what the BBC tells us, that in my view these measures are of no use at all for translators getting work from international clients, whether direct or via agencies. How to prove that my months of reduced income (if they happen) are due to the virus outbreak and not just to ordinary demand fluctuations? There must be other similar sole traders, dependent on foreign customers, in the same position. Tourist guides is one category that comes to mind. Any others? | |
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Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 05:07 Spanish to English + ...
... the economics aren't great, but let's remember that most of us here, I assume, work from home, so our sector is quite lucky with the isolation part of it. Over here Madrid, the Basque Country and La Rioja are about to go the same way as locked down Italy. Meanwhile, the Chinese got off to a bad start, but you can't beat that hardline attitude to force people to do what you want, and they're looking much safer than us now. The long and the short of it is that they want to keep us... See more ... the economics aren't great, but let's remember that most of us here, I assume, work from home, so our sector is quite lucky with the isolation part of it. Over here Madrid, the Basque Country and La Rioja are about to go the same way as locked down Italy. Meanwhile, the Chinese got off to a bad start, but you can't beat that hardline attitude to force people to do what you want, and they're looking much safer than us now. The long and the short of it is that they want to keep us all at home, but I've been mostly home for over 25 years and my wife also works mostly from home, so even if Covid 19 gets to me, I was going to be home anyway. Cut out the bars and go running instead of gymming, and that's about it for the next few months. Think health-not-dosh for the time being. Dead men spend no money. ▲ Collapse | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2008) Italian to English TOPIC STARTER Stay on topic please | Mar 12, 2020 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote:.... The point is: yes, we can all isolate ourselves for 99% of the time but what if there's no work coming in? What provision has the British government made for people like us who are not sick, but whose income is suffering because of coronavirus in other countries? This thread is about a specific problem faced by translators *in the UK*. | | | Business as usual | Mar 12, 2020 |
Why on Earth would we need the government to bail us out? We’re unusually well placed to deal with this situation. The world won’t shit down completely. Just stock up on toilet roll, keep calm and carry on, no? | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2008) Italian to English TOPIC STARTER
Please see my post above and try to stick to the topic- | |
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Rigidly on topic | Mar 12, 2020 |
Tom in London wrote: what if there's no work coming in? What provision has the British government made for people like us who are not sick, but whose income is suffering because of coronavirus in other countries? Surely Tom you have some savings? You could hit a lean patch for a couple of months for non-viral reasons too... | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 04:07 Member (2008) Italian to English TOPIC STARTER
Chris S wrote: Surely Tom you have some savings? You could hit a lean patch for a couple of months for non-viral reasons too... Of course I have savings but they are *capital* that took years of hard work to accumulate, is invested where I can't easily get at it, and is not for day-to-day spending. If I were to dribble away my capital on ordinary expenditures this would compromise my long-term situation. This thread is about *maintaining one's existing income level *and the risks posed by a drop-off in the amount of income-generating work that's affected UK-based translators. P.S. and not everyone has savings.
[Edited at 2020-03-12 10:46 GMT] | | | Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 05:07 Spanish to English + ...
Just trying to look on the bright side. It does look bad. | | | Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Coronavirus: the situation for UK-based sole traders Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
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