Can I claim unemployment whilst setting up my business?

Can I claim unemployment whilst setting up my business?

You can claim unemployment whilst setting up a business as long as there are no sales in your business – once you get sales you will have a taxable source of income which would be considered self-employment.

However, you do not need continue claiming unemployment benefits when starting a business as the government has put supports in place to replace your unemployment benefit with other schemes (such as the BTWEA and STEA) to help supplement your income.

So in short, yes you can keep getting social welfare benefits when setting up your business (however, you cannot voluntarily leave your employment to start a business and get BTWEA or STEA).