In sickness and in health: A self-employed musician's guide to sick pay

Haven’t had a day off in weeks? Many self-employed people have to be coached in the art of saying ‘no’ because, given the opportunity, they can easily find themselves working seven days a week for weeks on end. It is the logical response to not knowing how much work will be available in the mid-term future and is part of balancing out fluctuating income as a freelancer, but it’s a response that has to be managed carefully.

When times are good, working a lot can be exhilarating: you’re in demand, riding high and earning relatively well. And, as long as they don’t last too long, any fallow periods can be enjoyed and used to benefit the rest of your life.

If times are tough, though, and you are having to manage an extended period without work or have to take time out because of illness, what then? The pandemic has shown how important it is for the self-employed to have a safety net and thank goodness the UK government stepped in to offer grants in those exceptional circumstances. But what other options are out there now that life has resumed some sort of normality?

Matt Wanstall, the Musicians’ Union regional organiser for the North of England, says, ‘Unfortunately, the simple answer is that there is no straightforward access to sick pay for freelancers. The Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) can provide some help but it in general seems most relevant where someone has a long-term condition or disability. The MU doesn’t claim to be experts on the benefits system and the government guidance doesn’t provide many hard and fast rules on ESA.’

Benefits in brief

It is certainly not straightforward to navigate your way through the benefits system but there are organisations to help. The website, Turn2Us, has an extremely useful benefits calculator that takes into account anyone else you may be living with, current earnings, savings and any benefits you may already be receiving. A quick calculation found that a single person who becomes unable to work because of long-term illness could be entitled to over £190 per week, £168 of which is Universal Credit, although it is likely to be less. Other benefits can come in the form of Council Tax relief and Child Benefit, for example.

Universal Credit replaces the help that used to be available with income-related Employment and Support Allowance and other benefits. It is there for anyone between the ages of 18 and State Pension age who is living in the UK and on a low income or unemployed.

Universal Credit

According to the Citizens Advice Bureau, it might be worth claiming Universal Credit if:

• you’re struggling to pay the bills
• you’ve lost your job and have no income
• your income has dropped but you’re still working
• you have a disability or illness that stops you working
• you have expensive childcare costs
• you’re caring for someone

There’s no set level of income where you stop being eligible for Universal Credit – it depends on your situation. You must have less than £16,000 in savings.

You can apply for the ‘new style’ Employment and Support Allowance if you’re under UK pension age and have a disability or long-term health issue which affects how much you can work. You need to have been employed or self-employed and also to have paid enough National Insurance contributions, usually in the last two to three years.

Lastly, expectant mothers will be aware of the Maternity Allowance. It is available to women who do not qualify for statutory maternity pay because of being self-employed and who have paid enough National Insurance. You can claim it from the 26th week of pregnancy and it is paid for 39 weeks at £156.66 per week.

Are you really self-employed?

The debate over people’s employment rights is ongoing at a national level, with unions pushing for stronger employment rights and highlighting that people on zero-hours contracts and similar are classed as workers, not self-employed. As a worker you may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity, Paternity or Adoption Pay and Shared Parental Pay. There is no guarantee of future work, so it is still a more casual arrangement than a contract of employment. However, there are scenarios where the working relationship is longstanding and a recognisable pattern of work has evolved, in which case an umbrella or global contract is said to be in place, and the relationship should be that of employer and employee. The MU’s Guide to Employment Status for Instrumental Teachers is a useful tool for this (see the box-out below).

Statutory Sick Pay is a weekly amount set by the government that has to be paid by an employer to an employee for up to 28 weeks if they become too ill to work. The current rate is £99.35 per week if you are an employee, earn an average of at least £123 per week and have had to take four consecutive days off because of illness. If your employment contract includes sick pay, then you might get more than this.

Assistance from the third sector

In recognition of how precarious it can be to make a living as a self-employed musician there are well-established charitable bodies that exist to help in times of crisis. Wanstall says, ‘We at the MU do provide members with options where applicable around our own benevolent fund and referrals to organisations like Help Musicians and The Royal Society. Our approach to issues like this tends to be very much on a case-by-case basis since every individual situation can be different.’

Help Musicians can provide modest grants to help with short-term costs in a crisis, and it aims to make any payment within ten days of receiving a completed application form. When Anthony Thompson, trumpeter, found himself unable to work for many weeks after a complication with a routine operation, Help Musicians provided valuable support. ‘A representative came to see me in my home environment to check whether there was anything I needed in the way of equipment. They were able to give me £500 which went reasonably far at the time, in 2011, and a few months later they sent a Christmas card with a £50 M&S voucher in it. The money was helpful but above that it was the feeling they cared that really bolstered me in my recovery.’

This story is typical of the kind of assistance offered by both Help Musicians and the Royal Society of Musicians (RSM). They can check that appropriate support packages from the state are in place, help pay for adaptations to your home or for a piece of equipment you may need. They may also offer financial help with living costs. Because every case is different, they make a point of visiting you to assess your needs and will continue to do this for as long as the relationship lasts. As Yinke Fasawe, a caseworker at RSM explains, ‘The assistance doesn’t end with a payment. I will keep in regular contact with existing beneficiaries to see how they are getting on. These people are more than just numbers on a spreadsheet to us. We want to make sure our colleagues in the profession are looked after as best as possible.’

And finally, mental health has become a priority and organisations including MU and Help Musicians UK are investing seriously in it. Help Musicians UK supports the helpline Music Minds Matter (musicmindsmatter.org.uk), and this summer it is also running online sessions on how to build resilience and negotiate common challenges, with topics including Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships and Maintaining Authenticity and the Risks of Emotional Repression. These run on Monday mornings and started on 23 May 2022. The route to self-employed sick pay may be winding but it seems to be paved with goodwill from many organisations and that can make all the difference to recovery.