Will Self Employed Singing Teachers Loose Out Over COVID-19?

Although Boris Johnson’s new financial relief scheme for musicians contains good news for many it is vital that no musicians are left to fall through the cracks. We are concerned about the self-employed musicians who are not covered by these new measures, and also how the Government will cover the gap until support is made available in June.

We are asking the Prime Minister to:

• Provide meaningful support for those who have been self employed for less than a year.
• Ensure people who are part employed and part self-employed can access support through both schemes.
• Remove the £50,000 cap, as no equivalent cap exists for employed people.
• Provide support for self-employed people who run as limited companies and pay themselves in dividends, not PAYE.
• Speed the Universal Credit application process up to cover the gap until support is made available in June, or find an alternative method of covering the income gap.
• Announce statutory sick pay that is really for all from day one of self isolation whether you have coronavirus or someone in your household does.
• I also ask that you contact us for more about the challenges COVID-19 is presenting me and other freelancers, and what else you can do to support us. Remember to explain how coronavirus is already affecting you, and how it will affect you in the next few months.

Personal stories really do help – they show singers and musicians the truth of the situation and give them case studies to show Government that it is urgent. You can already see the impact that you’ve made in calling on Government to provide financial relief for the self-employed. Now we need to make sure that all self-employed musicians are truly covered.

It is also essential that we know how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting all musicians. This is especially true if you are not covered by Government’s support package for the self-employed.