Chancellor Rishi Sunak says self-employed people facing financial difficulties will be able to have 80% of their monthly wages covered by the 海角视频 Government.
The Government had been under pressure to financially support around five million self employed people in the 海角视频 - who were not covered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Now the chancellor has unveiled he will match the support for those in employment - with 80% of self employment income covered, capped at £2,500 per month.
But money may not be received until June.
It will be calculated using average monthly profits over last three financial years.
Rishi Sunak says it will cover 95% of people who make the majority of their wages through being self-employed.
He says the last 5% have average incomes of £200,000, adding: "It is a very generous scheme and treats them with same parity as the employed."
The sting in the tail for the self employed was a hint that the self employed would face increased tax contributions in the future.
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The chancellor said: "It is now much harder to justify the inconsistent contributions of people with different employment statuses.
"If we all want to benefit equally from state support, we must all pay in equally in future."
Responding to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s pledge of financial support for the self-employed impacted by the coronavirus crisis, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Mike Cherry said: "This bold support package from the government will give much-needed help to vast numbers of self-employed workers, guaranteeing 80%of income to those affected, with earnings of up to £50,000.
“This is a time of national emergency, and it is very welcome that the Government has listened to FSB and responded with a multi-billion-pound package to support the most financially vulnerable entrepreneurs, and to do so through the self-assessment system."
He added: "We have heard despairing stories from hard-working hairdressers, bakers, childcare providers, freelancers, drivers and many others, seeing the businesses they’ve spent years building dry up in a matter of days. It is many of those strivers who today’s package will support.
“The self-employed community underpins the 海角视频 economy. They are the individual risk-takers who don’t expect the same benefits as employees. In this moment of a collective national effort to overcome a global pandemic, today’s package is a significant, multi-billion-pound improvement on what was proposed last Friday."
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British Chambers of Commerce director general Dr Adam Marshall said: "The Chancellor’s announcement offers a lifeline to the vast majority of the 海角视频’s 5m self-employed people, many of whom have seen their livelihoods vanish overnight.
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"Chambers, along with other business groups, have worked constructively with government to ensure the self-employed receive similar support to those who are employed through PAYE.
"We welcome the scale of this scheme and recognise the complexities involved in its design. It is now critical that the government delivers this practical support to people on the ground as soon as possible."
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, said: “Self-employed and freelance workers have been waiting anxiously for weeks to learn what support the government can offer them through this pandemic and this plan is a step in the right direction and a big win for our campaigning.
“There are two priority issues now for the government on which we will be holding them to account. First, they must work with unions and business groups to make sure that nobody who needs support is denied it because of the way they are contracted or due to arbitrary thresholds.
“Second, to find a mechanism for getting this money to people as quickly as possible so that nobody faces hardship or has to resort to drastic measures."