Knock-on effects of new Universal Credit
Low earners who are self employed will lose out when Universal Credit is rolled out in Shropshire in May. Self-employed women are the majority of the newly self-employed.
Since the 2008 downturn, 58 per cent of the newly self-employed have been female.
There will now be a cap on the amount they can claim to top up their earnings, based on a so-called ‘minimum income floor’, calculated as the minimum amount they should expect to earn while working full-time, i.e. the minimum wage.
In a report to the Department for Work and Pensions it is said that 37 per cent of self employed – even when working 36 hours or more per week – are earning £500 or less per month. In the same report it is stated that ‘45 per cent of self-employed need to work around childcare and other caring commitments’, and that this is a lifestyle choice.
Yet the number of people undertaking unpaid caring roles has gone up by 15 per cent in the last few years.
Much of these caring responsibilities, often by women, is saving the state billions of pounds. If they are forced to work longer hours, who is going to undertake their caring responsibilities?
What will happen to the people they care for? If they have to stop working at all, how is that going to help the economy generally, or long-term financial stability for them and their family?
Linda Webster, Shrewsbury
