If you have not been saving 20% of every single invoice you receive as tax/savings or have no savings at this time there are a few things you can do to help with bills and expenses.
For the self-employed there isn't access to statutory sick pay please sign the petition here for this to be discussed by Parliament. With that said contact HMRC for payment holidays or payment plans if you have May or July tax bills to pay. Also banks are willing to discuss Mortgage options with payment holidays and if you have a variable mortgage your monthly payments may be lower due to lowered interest rates. Are you paying a student loan? You could be eligible for money back as you may have overpaid. Check here for more information and instructions. *update: The government have suggested benefits for self employed people such as Universal Credit and income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Universal Credit is known to take up to 5 weeks to kick in but with the current climate you can claim immediately.
If you have a degree in business, admin or a field that can function online it may be an option to look for some work that can be done online too. Vocalists are not restricted to do live work there are lots of options to do work that keeps on giving such as recording on adverts and library music (both of which can be done remotely).
It is a strange time but it's also a time to be reflective, have a think about the aftermath and make plans we are often too busy to focus on. A lot of our industry depends on an audience/crowd so having gigs cancelled is really not ideal for live performers and may come under Force Majeure.
A Force Majeure clause (French for "superior force") is a contract provision that allows a party to suspend or terminate the performance of its obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise, making performance inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible.
In this case there may be some scope to negotiate on getting some money for cancelled shows and tours. Each label or management company will have different approaches to this especially for cancelled tours. There is also such a thing as income insurance for the self employed. Income Protection companies can pay out up to 65% of your monthly wages depending on your circumstances, health, set claim period and so on. Click here for more information. For a detailed quote and phone call contact Love Insured by email Kelly.Adonteng@euinsure.co.uk
If there are any other topics you want covered just let us know. In the mean time Stay safe, Stay clean, Stay informed!
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