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Mar 2020

Coronavirus

‘I’m worried sick about feeding my family’ the real anxiety of the self-employed in the Harrogate district

Published: 18 Mar 2020, 17:58 GMT

Updated: 20 Mar 2020, 17:01 GMT

by Ami Miller Lifestyle Reporter

Daniel Williams has been a chauffeur and taxi driver for 5 years and is one of the many self-employed people in the Harrogate Borough. His 65 hour working week has reduced to just 10..

For the self-employed in the district these are very worrying times and some have already experienced a serious loss of income due to the coronavirus crisis.

With flights and holidays cancelled and the Government advising against all ‘non-essential travel’ for at least 30 days it’s has been very challenging time for taxi drivers. Daniel Williams, who lives in Harrogate and has been a taxi driver and is now a chauffeur, told the Stray Ferret:

“Most of my work is airport transfers for airline staff and holiday makers, so it’s pretty bad... I was the main earner in my household a month ago and now I'm barely making any money. We have rent to pay, which I fear will be impossible.. I am even worried about putting food on the table for my wife and kids.”

In last night’s speech Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a £300bn package of financial measures to shore up businesses against the coronavirus impact. But Daniel said he feels left out:

“He mentioned help for home-owners and people with small businesses, but there was no mention for people like me.. My wife works for a company that supplies cleaning staff for gyms, if the gyms close, she will be out of work as well.”

Charlotte Wilson is a make-up artist based just outside of Harrogate. She told The Stray Ferret that in last 48 hours alone she has had 5 wedding cancellations due to coronavirus.

“This week has been very strange. I normally see 10 clients a day but I've only seen that in a week. My dad’s health isn’t good at the moment so I really don’t want him to get it ill ... I have been sterilizing all of my products after each use, but I see different people each day and when I'm doing makeup and eye-lashes, I am close to people so it is more of a worry. I have told clients not to come if they aren’t feeling well, but I just hope my business will bounce back to how it was once this is all over.”

Social distancing and working from home is a real issue for the beauty industry with many appointments requiring close contact and a high volume of clients coming in and out each day.

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Ruth Maddon, is a self-employed hairdresser, in Harrogate. She told the Stray Ferret she has the added concern of being 6 months pregnant:

“I rent a chair in a salon 5 days a week but I have had to stop working as people were coming in with cold and flu symptoms. I told people to only to come if they were 100% well, but I don’t think people understand when to quarantine.”

Are you self-employed and worried about the impact of coronavirus? Tell us your story and get in touch below.