Government set to pay self employed 80% of wages

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In a U turn from the government nationaltradesmen.co.uk has learnt that tradesmen could be paid 80% of there wages but the full details are not know yet but are expected to be realised tomorrow afternoon in an announcement from the new chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak.

The government has been under pressure from the labour party and an number of online petitions in the fall out from the covid  19 crisis, with reports of construction workers still traveling to work on busy tubes and crowded buses in London and large cities.

With as many as 470,000 extra benefits claims in one day for universal credit, the computer systems were inadequate and completely jammed, along with phone lines with some waiting for over ten hours.

Sunak and the government have been under huge pressure to do more for the UK’s 5 million self-employed after announcing an unprecedented job retention scheme for employees last Friday, this upset the self employed and those on zero hour contracts.

These new announcements come as Covid-19 claimed the life Britain’s deputy ambassador to Hungary, who was 37 and a 21-year-old woman from Buckinghamshire, according to her family, and . The number of confirmed UK cases stood at just over 8,000 on Wednesday night.

Construction workers have felt cheated with many venting their frustration on social media feeling like the have been left to carry on working with no protection from the out break and to financial support with many construction workers being the main bread winner in the family.

Karl Handscomb, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, commented saying: “The unprecedented surge in new universal credit claims shows that the UK is already in the midst of an unemployment crisis. The increase in claims is putting huge pressure on our social security system, and is driven by a huge hit to family incomes.

“The government was right to increase the generosity of the benefits system last week. It now needs to ensure the resources are there so that claims are processed quickly, and people receive support as soon as possible.”