{"id":14124,"date":"2017-12-11T12:13:07","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T12:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=14124"},"modified":"2017-12-11T16:31:40","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T16:31:40","slug":"families-will-go-hungry-universal-credit-self-employed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=14124","title":{"rendered":"‘Families will go hungry’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSmall businesses are the backbone of the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 prime minister Theresa May said just over a year ago.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But she failed to reveal just how broken this backbone would be under government plans for the self-employed, many of whom face having to shut their businesses as the controversial Universal Credit programme rolls out throughout the country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The government has said Universal Credit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which rolls six benefits such as housing benefit, working tax credit, child credit and others into one payment \u00e2\u20ac\u201c was designed to ensure that work pays.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But just tell that to Sarah, a single mother of two who has run a successful if modestly earning childminding business for over a decade — but now risks losing it all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With the help of limited benefits support such as tax credits and housing benefit to top up her income, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been able to make ends meet while working an average of 40 hours a week and caring for her six-year-old child and teenager.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But under Universal Credit, the government will assume that Sarah earns the equivalent each month of a minimum wage worker working full-time and will peg her UC payments to this rate, called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098minimum income floor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The only problem is she and millions of self-employed people like her often earn substantially less in some months, even if their business is successful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And the government has so far refused to make up the shortfall in benefits for these lower-earning self- employed as the current system does.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Because of the way Universal Credit is designed, some self-employed people earning exactly the same as employees could receive thousands of pounds less in support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government has failed to understand the reality of running a childminding business, or any other small business for that matter,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Sarah notes. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf these changes go through, I will be forced to give up everything I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worked so hard for.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She explains that her earnings fluctuate each month based on many different factors \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for example in August, children may go on holiday and so she has less business. Or sometimes, children may be poorly and stay home.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Childminding is highly regulated in the UK, with strict adult-child ratios, so she couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t substantially \u00e2\u20ac\u015bgrow her business\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as the government has instructed self-employed people on Universal Credit to do \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even if she wanted to.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In other months, Sarah will earn less because her expenses are higher \u00e2\u20ac\u201c each year she must pay Ofsted fees and insurance, in the summer she pays for outings for the children, and every few years she must pay for various courses such as first aid that government regulators require.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reality <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Far from making work pay, the reality of Universal Credit for millions of self-employed people will mean that it makes more financial sense to be unemployed than it is to continue running their business.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sarah is far from alone \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a recent Huffington Post investigation<\/a> found that government advisors have specifically told claimants they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be better off on the dole under Universal Credit than continuing in their trade.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government says it wants to support small business owners, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing the exact opposite,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Sarah says. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor tax purposes, our earnings are calculated over the year with the understanding that money fluctuates, but for claiming Universal Credit, our earnings will be assessed each month \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it makes absolutely no sense.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy childminding business means everything to me \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it means independence for my family; it means my self-esteem as a single working mother being able to provide for my children and be there for them; it means setting a good example for my kids.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m proud of the work I do \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I often work more than 40 hours a week and the parents whose children I look after rely on me. I hate being on benefits and I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it enables me to make ends meet while caring for my children and providing a service in need,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she adds. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what I will do if I have to shut my business.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sarah notes that in the part of the UK where she lives, there are very few jobs available which utilise her skills. And if she were to look for employment, she may even end up claiming more government support in childcare costs and job seekers allowance while she looks for a job.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A recent report from the Low Income Tax Reform Group<\/a> highlighted all the different ways that self-employed Universal Credit claimants would be hit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c some self-employed people earning the exact same each year as employees will be more than \u00c2\u01412,000 a year worse off.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Work and Pensions Committee meeting last week debated<\/a> the impact of Universal Credit on the self-employed, but for hundreds of thousands of people, change must happen now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe only reason I found out about this issue is because it was brought up in a conversation with a friend,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Sarah explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy biggest fear is for those who will find out just as they are forced on to Universal Credit. In my area, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been told it will roll out in the next two years, but for others it might be too late. People will be evicted from their homes; families will go hungry and it will be children who are most harmed by all of this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Unite is actively lobbying for Universal Credit to be stopped\u00c2\u00a0 and fixed immediately \u00e2\u20ac\u201c last week, Unite Community staged a national day of action in towns and cities across the UK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This, Unite Community co-ordinator Liane Groves said, was not the beginning nor the end of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s offensive against Universal Credit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSarah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart-breaking story is one among the many we have heard from at Unite which show the real human cost of this government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s botched Universal Credit plans,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Groves said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is scandalous that the entire system is designed to punish people who just want to get on in their lives \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to care and provide for their families; to earn a decent and respectable living; to live with dignity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe at Unite are calling for Universal Credit to be halted immediately so that it can be fixed, and we are actively campaigning to achieve this aim. We need a fair and humane benefits system that understands the realities of work in modern Britain today.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more on how you can get involved in the fight against Universal Credit here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSmall businesses are the backbone of the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 prime minister Theresa May said just over a year ago.   But she failed to reveal just how broken this backbone would be under government plans for the self-employed, many of whom face having to shut their businesses as the controversial Universal Credit programme rolls out throughout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[556,462],"wps_subtitle":"UC means self-employed could be better off jobless","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14124"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14125,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14124\/revisions\/14125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}