Scrap the self-employment penalty

Join our campaign to abolish the minimum income floor in Universal Credit, a penalty on the self-employed pushing creative workers out of the industry

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63%

of Equity members have received social security at some point in their life, largely intermittently or for short periods

Nearly 50%

of Equity members on the Minimum Income Floor said they had or were considering leaving the creative industries

41%

of Equity members on the Minimum Income Floor had gone without food or utilities

It's time to scrap the minimum income floor in Universal Credit, an unjust penalty on  self-employed creatives. 

The minimum income floor (MIF) is pushing creative workers out of the arts, disabled workers away from work, and in-work Universal Credit (UC) claimants into poverty and ill-health.  

We are asking the government to abolish this unfair penalty on the self-employed. Sign our petition calling on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to abolish the minimum income floor in Universal Credit.

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Is it only the wealthy that should be able to create art? Because of the MIF, I ended up not being able to pay my rent and losing my home.

Charmaine, actor, writer, director, producer 

What is the minimum income floor (MIF)? 

The MIF is a level of income in the UC calculation which is assumed for self-employed people regardless of their actual earnings. In months of low income, it seriously reduces UC payments, including payments for children and rent.   

The MIF is used to assess how much Universal Credit a gainfully self-employed person should receive each month. With an adequate social security safety net, the amount a person receives usually depends on how much they have earned – the more you earn, the less Universal Credit you receive.

But for the gainfully self-employed the system assumes a minimum income, usually 35 hours paid at national minimum wage. If you earn less than this, you will still only receive the amount of Universal Credit you would receive if you had been paid for 35 hours at national minimum wage. Meanwhile, if you are employed, there is no minimum income floor and you will be paid an amount of Universal Credit based on your true earnings. 

The MIF is weighted against self-employed people and is disproportionately affecting Equity members. It is incompatible with the fluctuating nature of self-employed creative work. As a result, it is driving highly motivated self-employed creatives away from the industry, pushing them out of highly skilled and rewarding work and into lower-skilled work elsewhere.  

Why is this important? 

The MIF directly affects who we see on our stages and screens and reduces diversity. Not Here to Help, a report for Equity by Heidi Ashton, Centre for Culture and Media Policy Studies, The University of Warwick, found that the MIF drives self-employed creatives away from creative work because they cannot afford to stay in it. Nearly half of respondents subjected to the MIF said they had or were considering leaving the industry.   

  • Our industry depends on a diverse workforce, which means new starters and low earners need to survive.  
  • Our industry needs workers to be available at very short notice. 
  • Self-employed creatives should be able to pursue their careers and claim UC without being subjected to the MIF.   
  • The MIF is causing deep poverty, hardship and very negative effects on wellbeing.   

Read more: Not here to help report.

With the MIF applied I’d be getting £64 a month. If you take away somebody’s housing costs that is catastrophic for people. Because the one thing that people need to be able to find a job is to feel secure in having a roof over their head. I’ve worked all my life. Surely a safety net is supposed to be there to help you when you’re struggling not make things even worse for you.

Bella, actor in her 60s 

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