Plight of small, limited company directors to be debated by MPs

The ForgottenLtd and ExcludedUK campaigners have helped to raise awareness of approximately 2.9 million professionals that have been denied access to the government’s financial support packages since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of whom are directors and shareholders of small, limited companies.

Some directors of small, limited companies opt to take only a modest salary via PAYE, with the remainder of their income derived from company dividends.

Although this is a perfectly fair and legitimate way of accounting, these individuals have fallen foul of the UK’s furlough scheme, which only covers their salary paid via PAYE and not their dividend income.

This has subsequently resulted in millions of skilled professionals that have seen their businesses affected by COVID-19 missing out on grants and other Government support packages through no fault of their own.

The ForgottenLtd campaign believes as many as 7.5 million jobs are on the line if the Government does not act now to provide a scheme in line with Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), which was suggested on 2nd December.

The online petition, calling for a support package for directors and shareholders of small, limited companies, has resulted in a general debate being scheduled among MPs on Wednesday, 9th December.

The debate will commence at 4.30pm and last up to an hour. It is possible to view the debate via the Parliament Live stream.

Date published 9 Dec 2020