News

Bectu joins call to extend SEISS until 2021

19 August 2020

Over 120 organisations including Bectu have signed a letter to the Treasury calling on the Chancellor to extend the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) until Spring next year.

The letter to Rishi Sunak was sent on Wednesday 19 August and highlights that freelancers and those working in the creative industries have been disproportionately hit by COVID-19 and that ongoing social distancing in venues means that many people won’t be able to return to work.

Applications for the second wave of the grant designed for people operating as sole traders opened on Monday 17 August and closes on 19 October. Bectu will be encouraging people who qualified for the first round of payments to apply for the second round.

The criterion remains the same for the second round of awards: self-assessment for 2018/19 submitted by January 31 2020, or April 23 self-employed earnings above 50% of all taxable income, but below £50,000 in that tax year.

If applications qualify they will be calculated at 70% of three-year trading profit average, the equivalent of 3 months’ income with a maximum award of £6570.

Bectu freelance and research officer Tony Lennon said: “People who qualified for SEISS the first time should be able to qualify a second time. However, for those who don’t qualify there are several options including: appealing the decision, applying for Universal Credit and also applying for a Business Bounceback loan.”

Tony Lennon will be hosting a webinar about how to access SEISS on Wednesday 26 August for Bectu members.

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said: “Too many people have already been excluded from government support during the pandemic. There is now an opportunity to recognise the vital role that SEISS has played for the people who have accessed it and to extend it. The government must recognise that sector specific support is crucial to retain talent as the live events and theatre industry still waits for the greenlight to be able to return to work fully.”