Petition · past parliament

Same 80% rate of pay for self employed as for employed

Rejected 20 signatures

What the petition asks

The government have offered 80% rate of pay for employed people who are unable to work during Corina virus. Self employed people should be offered the same benefit whilst they cannot work due to Corina virus to put food on the table & pay rent/mortgage. They pay the same tax & receive no benefit.
Self employed people pay tax same as unemployed. Yet receive less benefits. Plus less guidance as employed by themselves. Yet receive 0 support when faced with hard times. Even in an open market when work is rich a self employed person receives no government benefits if work slows. It is unreasonable to offer this support to employed but not self employed. Help self employed people too. Why should one person earning £40k get help as employed yet another at £40k get 0 in the current scenario?

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

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

Key facts

Signatures 20
Status Rejected
Rejected 27 Mar 2020

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