London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Self-employed people 'are being left in the dark'

Self-employed people 'are being left in the dark'

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has dramatically changed course by extending the furlough scheme until the end of March and pledging more generous help for self-employed people.

Support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will be increased, with the third grant covering November to January calculated at 80% of average trading profits, up to a maximum of £7,500.

But not everyone has welcomed the new measures. While some see them as a lifeline, others are dismayed that they fail to qualify for much-needed assistance.

Nick Rewcastle, of Peacehaven in Sussex, is one of the latter. Before the pandemic struck, he was head of the communications team at Harlequins Rugby Club.

He spent three months on furlough before being made redundant, then decided to strike out on his own by founding his own sports PR consultancy, NRPR.

"The fact that I'm newly self-employed means I don't qualify for any support," he told the BBC.

"I've managed to find a few clients and that's keeping me busy until mid-December, but then in January it's looking pretty scary.

"I'm doing my own thing and it's brilliant, but as far as the government is concerned, they don't care.

"It's disappointing. It doesn't make sense that people like me are being left in the dark."

Mr Rewcastle is unimpressed by Mr Sunak's assurance that anyone made redundant after 23 September can be rehired and put back on furlough.

"Harlequins aren't in a position to take anyone back," he says.

"He's saying all these people can go back into work, but businesses are so unstable at the moment, people who've been made redundant are going to stay redundant."


Greg Wilson runs a one-man company and has furloughed himself


Greg Wilson, 35, of Wells in Somerset, has managed to qualify for some support, although his income has taken a hit from the pandemic.

He is the owner and director of a "one-man band" company, Chew Valley Generators, which supplies electricity to weddings and other events.

He would normally service about 120 events a year, but that fell to just six this year. As a result, he took the decision to furlough himself.

"Furlough has been a lifesaver for myself and my small company, as we missed every other grant," he told the BBC.


'One-size-fits-all'


However, like many other company directors, he normally pays himself a salary of £1,000 a month and takes the rest of his income in dividends, which are not included in his furlough.

That means the government is paying him 80% of his salary - that is, £800 a month.

Mr Wilson objects to what he sees as the government's "one-size-fits-all" approach to company directors.

"They class me as the same sort of director as Richard Branson," he says. "But as well as being director, I'm also the tea-boy, the delivery driver and the service engineer."

He describes the furlough extension as "amazing news". With the scheme now ending in March and the events season running from April to October, he hopes it will tide him over.

"We get to wait until April to see what happens," he says. "Fingers crossed, we will be back."


'Head above water'


Jewellery designer Sarah Herriot, 58, also runs her one-woman set-up as a limited company, but decided that furloughing herself would be bad for her business in the long term.


Sarah Herriot is striving to save her business


"I've been working six days a week trying to keep my business afloat," she told the BBC. "I've worked very hard at it and to be fair, I've managed to keep my head above water."

Before the onset of coronavirus, she mainly sold her jewellery at shows and fairs, but these have all been cancelled, so she is now left with her website.

"That's not really working, so I've been surviving on commissions and bits and pieces of work," she says.

The only support she has received is a local discretionary business grant from Camden council in London, because she was able to demonstrate that she had lost 70% of her income during the pandemic.

Ironically, she says, she would have been able to make a claim under the Job Support Scheme, which had originally been set to replace the furlough scheme this month, but that has now been postponed.

"I would have had to go down to one day a week to get that. That's the first thing that I could have applied for," she says.

"But now we're back to furlough, so I'm out in the cold again.

"It makes me angry. It's so depressing, it beggars belief. All these businesses going to the wall and you wonder whether you're going to be next."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×