The Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) was introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April to provide financial support for self-employed workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The first SEISS grant is worth 80 per cent of monthly trading profits for three months, capped at £7,500 and the deadline for applications is Monday, July 13, 2020.
Only 2.6 million people out of a possible 3.5 million across the UK have applied for the first SEISS grant and on the latest episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live programme, the financial guru expressed his concern about the shortfall.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com encouraged viewers to use the free eligibility checker on the HMRC website to make sure they aren’t missing out on vital support.
The scheme was recently extended until October 19, 2020 to allow people to apply for the second grant only.
This will be worth 70 per cent of monthly trading profits, capped at £6,570.
The SEISS grant rules are simple - the first instalment is for those whose “business was impacted by Covid-19 before 13 July” and the second, which opens for applications in August, is for those “impacted by coronavirus on or after 14 July” - if your business has or will be affected within these time frames, you are due both.
During the live TV show, Martin asked Jim Harra, chief executive of HMRC, when applications for the second SEISS grant will open.
Mr Harra responded: "We expect to open the claims service on August 17.
"We will write to people and ask them to make their claim when we're ready to receive it.
"That should make it so there's enough time for people to make their claim and receive their second grant before the end of August."
Martin pointed out that payments for the first grant were made within a few days and said he hoped the second instalments would be just as quick.
What counts as being impacted by Covid-19?
Martin Lewis says it's obvious things such as:
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you or your staff have been unable to work due to it
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you can't access your usual place of work
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your revenue has been negatively impacted
And it's simple - either there's been an impact, even a small one, in which case you're due the whole grant, or there hasn't.
If you haven't applied for the first grant as you were worried, but now realise you are eligible, use the HMRC eligibility checker here and remember, you can make a claim if you're still working.
Don't forget, the deadline for the first grant is Monday, July 13, 2020.
