Jenny Miles-byrd

Jenny Miles-byrd started 2020 with a calendar full of bookings for her multimedia training and development business. But as the year draws to a close, she spends her days trying to find work and worrying about the future.

“I have got a roof over my head at the moment,” she says. “I have no idea what’s around the corner.”

The 52-year-old set herself up as a limited company director in order to work on a government contract several years ago. But that employment structure means she is excluded from much of the government income support for people affected by the pandemic, even though her work has disappeared as clients cut costs. Her husband has a part-time job but the income is “in no way meeting our outgoings”, she says. The pair have cut down on spending, borrowed from friends and family, and have taken a mortgage payment holiday. But they are back on full payments, even though the market for her business is far from recovery.

“We have probably got until Christmas then we are going to have to borrow more money off family and friends or sell the house,” she says.

The damage has been more than just financial. “I am online all the time looking for work, but it’s tough,” she says.

“I have applied for jobs in supermarkets but no one is going to hire me.

“They look at the CV and think, she won’t stay long, why should we employ her?

“My confidence is rock bottom.

“The government says retrain: what do they suggest I retrain as?”

She wants more financial support for limited company directors like her. “A small grant would be good just to keep me going – £5,000 is all I would ask for,” she says.