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Petition against minimum income floor for self-employed

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petition, universal benefit, DWP, minimum floor income, self-employmentFears are thousands of self-employed single parents will be pushed into unemployment.

If you are self-employed and claiming tax credits or Housing Benefit, you will be eventually moved onto Universal Credit when it is introduced in your area. Here is a summary of what to expect and what to do to be prepared.

How Universal Credit payments and the minimum income floor aims to work:

When the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) works out your Universal Credit payments, they will normally assume you are earning at least the ‘minimum income floor’.

This is an assumed level of earnings that is used to calculate your Universal Credit when your actual earnings fall below it.

The minimum income floor level is calculated as follows:

Take the number of hours you would be expected to work each week. This depends on your personal circumstances, for example you’d be expected to work fewer hours if you have caring responsibilities or you’re disabled.

This figure is then multiplied by the national minimum wage rate for your age group.

This figure is multiplied by 52 then divided by 12 to reach a monthly figure.

An amount for Income Tax and Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance contributions is then deducted to arrive at your monthly minimum income floor.

Universal Credit is paid monthly in arrears directly into your bank account. The amount you get each month is linked to how much you earn.

If you earn more than the minimum income floor you will receive less Universal Credit.

If you earn less than the minimum income floor you won’t get any more Universal Credit to make up the difference.

The problem – and therefore the objection to this scheme – is that many self-employed people make less than the minimum wage for hours worked.

People have small cottage industries and work very hard and many more than minimum hours, yet are being told that because they have not made enough money and reached the ‘minimum income floor’- which is what this petition is about – they are not working enough hours.

When in fact they are working way more than minimum.

Many single parents are working hard in small self-employed businesses. These take time to grow and are extremely valuable – to both them and society.

The minimum income floor will impact thousands of single parent families and leave them unable to continue trying to be independent.

Entrepreneurial single parents are a great role model for their children and being self-employed gives single parents the flexibility to also be present and care for their own children.

And campaigners believe that the introduction of a minimum income floor for self-employed single parents will plunge many hard working single parent families into either poverty or unemployment.

Please sign this petition asking the government to think again and see the huge and valuable contribution that many thousands of single parents are making in being self-employed and trying to create something for the future of their families.

  1. Gillian says:

    I totally agree that the Universal Credit is detrimental for single mums who are self employed – trying to work around school hours. The Torys need stopping before this Welfare Reform is rolled out nationally next year.

    Sadly it will be too late and already implemented before people realise the effects!

    Act now!

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