Self-employed workers will receive a grant covering 80 per cent of trading profits for November, the government has announced.

This brings the grant scheme in line with the job retention scheme, which has been extended for a further month following the announcement of a second lockdown.

The move comes after the government upped grant totals from 20 per cent to 40 per cent of average monthly profits, capped at £3,750.

The grant is calculated over three months, chancellor Rishi Sunak says, meaning that the total grant for November 2020 to January 2021, with the latter two months staying at 40 per cent, totals 55 per cent.

The maximum grant has been increased to £5,160, he adds.

Additionally, Sunak states that grants “will also be paid faster than previously planned, with the claims window opening at the end of November rather than the middle of December.”