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Money Box

Self-employment income support scheme discrimination claims

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2804 Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2021

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is being taken to court by mothers who claim the self-employed income support scheme discriminates against them. That's because they took maternity leave during the period their profits were assessed. The government currently calculates how much a self-employed person should receive in their grant, which covers lost profits during the pandemic, by looking at a three year average. And the maternity discrimination charity, Pregnant then Screwed, claims this disadvantages mothers whose average profits were hit because of time taken out from work. Paul Lewis talks to one of the mothers affected and speaks to Anna Dews from solicitors Leigh Day.

A record one billion pounds will be spent next year on compensating customers of financial miss-selling by firms that have gone out of business, according to a forecast in The Financial Services Compensation Scheme Plan and Budget for 2021/22. The cost is more than a third higher than was paid out this year and that was over a third higher than last year’s total. It has just about doubled over three years. What's going on? Paul Lewis talks to FSCS Chief Executive, Caroline Rainbird.

Nearly two months after Money Box first reported that the DWP was wrongly telling thousands of people that they owed it hundreds of pounds, Money Box continues to hear from listeners who say it is still going on. The Government told Money Box before Christmas that it had sorted the problem out. But Dan Whitworth talks to one woman who lost £1400 in December.

The self assessment tax deadline has been extended to 28 February, so if you file after the original deadline of 31 January , the £100 penalty can be avoided. But the tax does still needs to be paid by the end of this month, not February. Confused? Don't worry because Heather Self, tax partner at Blick Rothenberg explains all.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Ben Carter Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Darin Graham and Sowda Ali Editor: Rosamund Jones

Transcript

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helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put

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0:35.0

check out BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:41.3

Hello, welcome to this Moneybox podcast.

0:44.3

The financial compensation scheme is expected to pay out £1 billion next year.

0:49.3

The chief executive tells us why.

0:51.3

People are still having hundreds of pounds taken from their wages

0:55.3

to pay back universal credit loans they never had. When is a tax deadline extension not an extension

1:02.6

of the deadline for tax? And as two more energy providers go bust, what is the future for smaller

1:08.9

companies? But first, self-employed mothers are hoping for a

1:12.4

decision in the coming weeks in a court case they brought earlier this month. They accused the

1:17.5

Chancellor Rishi Sunak of illegally discriminating against them. They say the self-employment

1:23.3

income support scheme underestimates the profits of new mothers when it works out the grants

1:28.4

to help with the damage done to their business by COVID. That's because it normally uses a three-year

1:34.1

average. And if a woman is on maternity benefits during that time, it leaves a hole in her earnings

1:39.6

and reduces the amount she's paid. Cheryl Liversuch is one of those affected.

1:44.8

I've been a self-employed fitness instructor for about six, seven years now.

1:49.4

When COVID hit the gym that I was a general manager for and that I was teaching classes in

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