Why is the Working Family Payment not available to the self-employed?
To qualify for Working Family Payment, a person must be engaged in full time paid employment as an employee. They must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them or is supported by them.
It is possible for a household of a self-employed person to receive a working family payment where the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the self-employed person meets the qualifying criteria.
Instead there are a number of other schemes available to self-employed individuals, including:
- The Back to Work Family Dividend - which helps families to move from social welfare into employment, including self-employment, by retaining their qualified child increase for up to two years
- The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme - which encourages people getting certain social welfare payments to become self-employed. Where a person takes part in the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme, they can keep a percentage of their social welfare payment for up to 2 years;
- The Short-Term Enterprise Allowance - which gives support to people who have lost their job and want to start their own business.