COVID-19 Update – 5 November – Changes to universal credit for self-employed extended

The minimum income floor used to calculate universal credit payments for the self-employed will remain suspended until April 2021 due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

In March the government confirmed that as part of its coronavirus support package for the self-employed it would relax the requirements of the minimum income floor (MIF) for universal credit until 12 November 2020.

On 3 November, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Dr Thèrése Coffey, confirmed in a written statement that the measure would now be extended until 30 April 2021 and that regulations would be laid before parliament ahead of 12 November.

The MIF is used to calculate the level of universal credit payment individuals are entitled to when they are “gainfully self-employed”.

The announcement came the day after the Chancellor announced changes to the government’s Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, increasing the level of support available under the third grant in light of the second lockdown in England.