Petition · past parliament

Give more support to self-employed, sole traders and sub contracted individuals

Rejected 10 signatures

What the petition asks

More fiscal support for self employed and sole traders during the COVID-19 pandemic. By this we mean introducing government loans and grants accessible for those that fall into the aforementioned categories. Currently, the only support would be to apply for ESA which would only pay £80 per week.
Self employed, sole traders and sub contracted individuals are generally skilled workers. Skilled workers should not be treated differently from small businesses just because they do not pay business rates or other associated costs. If you are self employed and not working, this means no income and no bills being paid; the same outcome as is for small businesses. The Government are propping up businesses with grants/loans but nothing for self employed. ESA unfortunately does not cover a thing!

Why it was rejected

The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.

Since this petition was started, the Government has said that most self-employed people can claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months.

You can find out who is eligible and how to apply here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme

You can read the Government’s announcement here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-gives-support-to-millions-of-self-employed-individuals

You can find out what other Government support is available for people as a result of coronavirus (under the section on employment and financial support) here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

Timeline

18 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
27 Mar 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 10
Status Rejected
Rejected 27 Mar 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.