COVID-19

Early on, along with our friends at AIIC, we sent a letter to the Prime Minister addressing the impact of the situation on the UK's translators and interpreters and in July we received a reply from the Treasury.

We have been also in contact with the BEIS (Dept. for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and have been providing regular feedback on the challenges currently facing our members.

UPDATED 30 NOVEMBER 2020
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension
Online applications are now open for the third grant from the scheme which covers the three month period from 1 November 2020 until 31 January 2021. It is a taxable grant calculated at 80% of 3 months average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500 in total. You must make your claim by 29 January 2021.  Apply online.

There will be a fourth grant covering February 2021 to April 2021, further details of which, including the level, will be set out in due course. 

The deadline for government-backed loan schemes and the Future Fund have been further extended until 31 January 2021. Find out more.

If you're confused about whether you can claim that your business has been 'adversely affected' by coronavirus, this article by Martin Lewis may help.

If you’ve been overpaid by the SEISS, made a claim in error and were not eligible for the grant or would like to make a voluntary repayment, you must tell HMRC and pay back some or all of the grant. If you do not inform HMRC you may be charged a penalty.

If you are self-employed you may already be claiming working-from-home tax relief. This tax year you can claim for the full year even if you have been required to work from home only for one day.

HM Government Business Support - details of the various grants and schemes the government have launched, plus information about the small business bounce back loan.

IPSE (Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) - advice for freelancers and the self-employed, including a useful FAQ section.

FIT have issued a summary of help available elsewhere in Europe.

The government business support finder will help you see what support is available for your business.

The Job Retention Scheme has been further extended and will now run until the end of April 2021.

Small and medium sized businesses in England can access grants to help them recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. They can apply for a grant of between £1,000 - £5,000 to help them access new technology and other equipment as well as professional, legal, financial or other advice to help them get back on track.

The Recovery Advice for Business scheme, supported by the government and hosted on the Enterprise Nation website, will give small firms access to free, one-to-one advice with an expert adviser to help them through the coronavirus pandemic and to prepare for long-term recovery.

The small business bounce back loan offers loans of between £2,000 and £50,000, interest free for the first 12 months.

The Federation of Small Business offers support and advice in articles and fact sheets.

Statutory Sick Pay - You can check whether an employee qualifies for Statutory Sick Pay when self isolating. The system for making claims is now available online.

Newable, on behalf of the Department for International Trade (DIT), Enterprise Europe Network and J.P. Morgan are running a series of webinars, part of the Government effort aimed at supporting companies to get help, protect their business and save jobs.

ITI members can listen back to our popular webinar COVID-19 and your freelance business: taking back control (log in to My ITI required).

During lockdown, ITI launched a weekly Virtual Coffee Morning for members. The aim has been to lighten the mood with some light-hearted fun and chat with a different panel of guests each week. ITI members can listen to recordings of previous coffee mornings. We are currently taking a break over the summer, but the Virtual Coffee Morning will return in a new format in the autumn.

Please join us in using the hashtag #ITICommunity on social media to show how our members are supporting one another.

Undertaking some CPD is a great idea if you have more time on your hands at the moment than usual. Read about the types of CPD you could be doing.

We are continuing our series of monthly webinars (free for ITI members, £10 + VAT for non-members). Visit the Events calendar to see what we have got planned.

ITI members also have free access to the Webinar library (log in required), with over 30 hours of webinars to choose from.

We are supporting our Networks and Regional Groups by providing free access to our online meeting software and many have already taken up the opportunity to organise their own online events to support their members. Forthcoming events are listed on the Events calendar.

Our Network and Regional Groups cover language groups, subject groups as well as geographical groups. They offer an ideal way to build a supportive network of professional colleagues which is so important at the moment. Find out more about joining one of our groups.

ITI members have access to free legal advice through Markel Law who provide advice on business, legal and tax matters and have a 24 hour helpline.

Taking care during the pandemic - advice from the FSB for small businesses and the self-employed
Advice for everyone from the NHS
World Health Organisation daily updates
5 steps to mental wellbeing
A discussion about safeguarding mental health mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grief after bereavement or loss

Updated 2 November 2020

Borrowers who have been impacted by coronavirus and have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday will be entitled to a six month holiday, and those that have already started a mortgage payment holiday will be able to top up to six months without this being recorded on their credit file.

Borrowers who've already had a six-month payment holiday and still need help will be offered 'tailored support'. You will need to speak to your lender to discuss this. 

For more information, MoneySavingExpert provide constantly updated guides with need-to-knows on the financial fallout of the pandemic.

If you receive texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC, offering financial help or a tax refund and asking you to click on a link or to give personal information, it is a scam.

You should email it to [email protected] and then delete it.