Question for the UK drummers

Merlin5

Gold Member
Prime Minister has just ordered pubs, cafes, theatres, restaurants and some shops to close from tonight for the foreseeable future. Chancellor just announced that they will pay 80% of the wages for retained employees.

But what about the drummers here that rely on income from gigs? There was no announcement to cover loss of earnings for self employed entertainers that can't earn a penny now because he's closed the bloody venues.

I have savings which I don't want to use too much of, but I think social security would just say I have to live off them. Are any of you that rely on gigs going to try and claim compensation through universal credit?

Normally, they expect people to show proof of regularly looking for work in order to get paid anything. I'm not sure if they would expect that now given that everyone is being told to stay at home.

Also, this petition is worth signing. Probably won't amount to anything, but there's a slim chance.

 
It will be interesting to see how your questions play out here in the States as well. The definition of employment is somewhat ambiguous, particularly in the music/entertainment industry. By some absurd measures, you aren't even included in employment demographics if you don't work for a corporate entity. These are uncertain times for sure, and drummers are far from immune to the widespread fallout.

In the meantime, keep your spirits up by playing as much as possible. Drumming has always been the ultimate escape for me. It allows me to exist exclusively in the moment. The past and future both fade from my thoughts. Of course, reality announces itself the moment I put my sticks down, but the therapeutic properties don't flee entirely. I always have my next drumming session to look forward to.

Cheers!
 
I think for all self employed & gig economy workers, for now, at least some of the usual prequalifying criteria are dropped, but there's significant pressure on UK government right now to balance the offer made to "employees" with something of greater substance for everyone else. I have no clue how that will pan out, but it would be unthinkable that the status quo will be maintained. I believe the main challenge around any new support is the complexity of identification & payment mechanisms. With salaried staff, that's fairly simple through HMRC, but apparently not so straight forward for everyone else.

I think news is fairly imminent, & hope it's both realistic and accessible.

Overall, the level of UK government financial support is surprisingly substantial. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch, there are future implications, but I hope greater balance is facilitated in the coming days.
 
We are screwed. All gigs & tours cancelled & the absolute humiliation of having to go through the torture that is Universal Credit. Bollocks to the Tories.
 
Australian govt. today announced a payment for contractors and self employed persons who have lost work, including entertainment and hospitality. Was in the same speech where they shut down all the remaining venues and restaurants. Not sure how it will work in practice, but it sounds promising - up to six months if payments without the usual job search rules and red tape. Obviously varies country to country, but more govt’s seem to be compensating people for the shutdowns each day.
 
Apparently some 2 trillion to subsidize in US which I wonder how all that is going to work-similar concerns. I know plenty of businesses have closed and others open doing a better business-so need to root how who really is in need. I predict disparities and long term I have concerns the economic impacts actually harm more people than the pandemic. I feel for public health officials weighing all these options-there is just no universally accepted means to address pandemics-pros-cons, caveats for about everything.
 
We are screwed. All gigs & tours cancelled & the absolute humiliation of having to go through the torture that is Universal Credit. Bollocks to the Tories.

Get into the article in today’s Times. This government has blood on its hands. Johnson was never fit to lead in the first place, he’s essentially a eugenicist, happy for the weakest in society to die, and there are no words for Cummings and his weird shaped head.

Bollocks to them indeed, and all those who voted for them. Especially those now screaming for them to bring in measures Corbyn had in his manifesto, but shouted down at the time.
 
Get into the article in today’s Times. This government has blood on its hands. Johnson was never fit to lead in the first place, he’s essentially a eugenicist, happy for the weakest in society to die, and there are no words for Cummings and his weird shaped head.

Bollocks to them indeed, and all those who voted for them. Especially those now screaming for them to bring in measures Corbyn had in his manifesto, but shouted down at the time.

Absolutely spot on there mate.
 
To sum it up, if you're self employed or work zero hour contracts, you're screwed. How do you know what 80% of your wage is and how do you claim?

Same as anyone who has been laid off, you're classed as out of work and you can claim dole which is all of £94 a week.

I have a 9-5 in the NHS.....very strange place to be at the mo! Provided you're not near a ward it's very safe. Never been so grateful for a guaranteed income. My heart goes out to anyone not as lucky. There's a huge global recession on the way.

I've had gigs cancelled and the well paid function stuff is starting to re-arrange dates. It gets messy if we're double book and they're liable for the fee due to contractual obligations.

The government have been completely half arsed about the whole thing. I went to Spain in January and when I flew out the first plane of quarantined people came back from Wuhan. We didn't cancel flights from China and still haven't, never mind Italy. But groups of people are the problem....too little far too late.

Our government have been far more concerned about business than looking after the people until they've been forced to do something and their incompetence is shocking.
 
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