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Coronavirus: the situation for UK-based sole traders
Thread poster: Tom in London
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Mar 12, 2020

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
Agneta Pallinder  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
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Swedish to English
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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.
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Dan Lucas
Min Fang
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Not sick Mar 12, 2020

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]


Agneta Pallinder
Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL)
Min Fang
boostrer
 
Eva Stoppa
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Germany
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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.

Tom in London
P.L.F. Persio
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
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Italian to English
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Trumpism Mar 12, 2020

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.


Joe France
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
boostrer
 
Agneta Pallinder
Agneta Pallinder  Identity Verified
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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?

Tom in London
Chiara Gavasso
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
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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.

P.L.F. Persio
Kay Denney
Daryo
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
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?


 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
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I admit ... Mar 12, 2020

... 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
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... 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.
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
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*.


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
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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?


Thomas Pfann
Dan Lucas
P.L.F. Persio
Kay Denney
Rachel Waddington
Philip Lees
Min Fang
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Off topic Mar 12, 2020

Please see my post above and try to stick to the topic-

 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
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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...


Kay Denney
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Savings Mar 12, 2020

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)
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Spain
Local time: 20:16
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Sorry, Tom Mar 12, 2020

Just trying to look on the bright side. It does look bad.

 
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Coronavirus: the situation for UK-based sole traders






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