Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the minimum income floor on self-employed workers that are unable to work for brief periods due to (a) health issues and (b) care responsibilities.

No assessment has been made.

The level of the MIF is equivalent to what a person in employed work in similar circumstances to the customer could expect to earn at living or minimum wage for their age. The MIF is therefore tailored to a customer’s individual circumstances; where a person has limitations on the hours they can reasonably be expected to work, for example because they have a health condition or caring responsibilities, the level of their MIF can be reduced.

Short-term health conditions experienced by a customer, such as colds, flu, strains, and sprains, are regarded as part of the normal pattern of self-employment. Therefore, customers must plan for these periods as part of their ordinary business cycle.