Support for Owners / Directors of their own Limited Companies from UK Government: COVID-19

Support for Owners / Directors of their own Limited Companies from UK Government: COVID-19

Started
26 March 2020
Petition to
Signatures: 350,986Next Goal: 500,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Richard H

Sole directors of their own Limited companies are still being stiffed even after today's (26th March 2020) announcement from the UK chancellor. 

If you're a director of your own limited company (ltd) AND on payroll / PAYE (therefore employed by your own company) you cannot "furlough" yourself but you can for those who work for you where up to 80% of their salary (max £2500) will be covered by the state so long as they all guarantee to stay at home and do nothing.

If they lift a finger to remotely help keep your business afloat then this benefit will be stripped away from them by law.

Also as we directors are "employed" by our own company (examples: coaches, vets, mechanics, shop and restaurant managers) we do not qualify for the self employed package announced on 26th March 2020. We slip through the cracks again (unintentionally?) and are told to basically keep our chin up and see it through or fall back on the £94 quid a week benefits so long as we can prove we're struggling enough to qualify.

There is no restriction for the employee package where if they have savings above x,  z amount of assets/properties or inheritance then they can forget about the salary bump, its there regardless, even for millionaires. Yet Universal Credit, which many directors are being pushed into has many limitations before it will reluctantly cough out £94 quid and so many will currently receive £0.00 in support during this pandemic.

This is disgusting. Those who run their own company often work the most hours, take the most financial risk and so show little profit (if any) for many years and will not just have to re-build their personal life and finances when this crisis passes but re-start their business along with client base from scratch too.

Acceptable Resolutions

Company Directors of Ltd

Directors of their own Ltd who have personally not claimed any other recently announced self-employed or employed benefit due to Covid-19 (HMRC can track by our national insurance numbers) should be given a grant from HMRC of 80% of the average income (salary AND/OR dividend) that was declared on our last 3 annual tax returns.

New Directors & Newly Self-Employed

For those poor sods who have recently started in business and so do not have the tax returns / end of year accounts to show it but have not benefited from any other government initiative (easily tracked by HMRC via their NI number) so long as they can show their business is their primary source of income, that their market has significantly been impacted by COVID-19 then they should be entitled to a lump sum to help them. An amount that will be desperately needed to pay business bills as well as personal ones.

Reality Check

You give the average employee £2500 then after tax and removing their train/car/bus fare to work there will be a good chunk left to pay personal bills like rent/mortgage, household bills, shopping and then a little left over for shopping, clothes (during normal times...)

You give the average company owner £2500 they'll put that money back in their own company to keep the damn thing afloat during this crisis e.g. paying the office rent, replacement tools/stock, phone bill, lease for their van and then maybe, just maybe they'll be something left for them to use for personal expenses...

So please dont think many directors who "work their hours", "have no boss", "keep all the money" are going to live a cushy life over the next 3 months or anytime in the near future...

Please sign and share if you agree!!

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Signatures: 350,986Next Goal: 500,000
Support now
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