AIM CEO urges Rishi Sunak not to 'wash his hands' of the self-employed

21 March 2020 - Press release

 

Responding to the business support measures announced by the Chancellor tonight, Paul Pacifico, CEO of The Association of Independent Music said:

"While we welcome the latest measures the government has announced today, including wage subsidies that will be a huge relief for many British SMEs having to make cutbacks at this time, there is one crucial part of the workforce which is still left high and dry. Today we are urging the Chancellor – Rishi, please do not 'wash your hands' of the self-employed. The UK economy benefits substantially from over 5 million self-employed and freelance workers, who also make up a massive 70% of the UK music industry. Many have lost all sources of income completely through this crisis, have been effectively overlooked and are now facing economic strife as a result. We are calling on the government to extend the same support as payroll employees have been promised; a lifeline to compensate self-employed workers with up to 80 percent of their average earnings over the past three years, if necessary with a cap of £2,500 a month. This could be as easily administered by HMRC as it will be for payroll employees. The self-employed have the same bills to pay as the rest of the nation's workers and contribute just as much. They deserve the same support."

AIM's petition to create a Temporary Income Protection Fund for freelancers and self-employed workers, in support of CIF and IPSE, can be found here.