Boris Johnson pledges support for UK’s self-employed during coronavirus crisis

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Boris Johnson pledged support for five million self-employed workers on Sunday night

It comes amid fears they are being abandoned in the coronavirus crisis.

Chancellor Rushi Sunak said the self-employed can claim sick pay if they get coronavirus

Chancellor Rushi Sunak is allowing them to claim statutory sick pay of £94.25 a week if they contract the virus.

But critics say his plan to underwrite the wages of staff who face being laid off — by paying them up to £2,500 a month — does nothing for the self-employed, freelancers and contractors whose work could dry up.

Representatives for the self-employed met the Government over the weekend.

Last night Boris Johnson pledged support. He said: “I can tell you again that this government will be standing behind you — behind British business, behind British workers, employees, self-employed — throughout this crisis.”

Campaigners hope the Treasury will be able to use HMRC systems to transfer cash back to self-employed workers based on an average earning over three years.

A source close to the meetings said: “There have been some constructive talks.

“The situation we were in — where someone with a job gets £2,500 a month and the self-employed just under £400 — was never going to stand. Whatever they agree on, it needs to come quickly.”

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “It’s not as simple as supporting those who are in employment.”

Ex-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the sick pay scheme was “clearly not enough for most people to be able to survive on.”

National chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, Mike Cherry, said: “From hairdressers to bakers to childcare providers, we’re hearing from countless people who are frightened and bewildered as they watch their business fall away and see little or no financial help.”

Scientists have produced a day-by-day breakdown of the typical Covid-19 symptoms