People who are wholly or primarily self-employed will no longer qualify for Employed Person’s Allowance if new regulations are approved by Tynwald next month.
EPA is an income-related benefit paid to employed families and disabled workers who meet minimum weekly hours requirements, with payments based on household income, childcare costs, and housing expenses.
However, self-employed claims rely on reported profits, which are often difficult to verify due to cash-based earnings and untracked working hours.
Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson MHK said: “Treasury is committed to providing financial support to workers in genuine need, while ensuring benefits are targeted, secure and reliable.
“Having considered a number of options, it’s been concluded that EPA is not appropriate for the primarily self-employed — officers are unable to verify the income or hours worked by claimants and around 40% report earnings below the minimum wage, which raises questions about the sustainability of such businesses.”*
If approved, the changes will take effect from September 1, with no new self-employed claims accepted after that date.
Around 50 existing self-employed claimants—out of 950 total recipients—will retain eligibility for up to 12 months.
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