Retention of self -employed worker status

How long does a EU national cl retain self employed status if they were forced to stop working by the COVID rules? My cl worked in the UK as a self employed person for just under a year and then COVID intervened. They claimed UC in March 20 but were refused so cl went abroad to avoid being homeless. They returned to the UK in Nov 20 but were still prevented from working They have reclaimed UC but been refused on R2R grounds and want to appeal so any precedent regarding the retention of self- employed status would be useful

The first question is whether their self-employment has actually ceased. A period of self-employment can potentially survive through spells of reduced activity or lack of work depending on the facts - see HMRC v HD & GP [2017] UKUT 11 (AAC). That case is to do with maternity related gaps in work, but I don’t see that the principle is any different if the reason for the loss of work is covid related.

If the self-employment has involuntarily ceased, then they can retain their status on the same basis as if they had been employed. This is the effect of the decision in the case Gusa and if you get an up to date copy of the Immigration (EEA) Regs, it will be there as reg 6(4).

I think the bigger problem here is the period of absence abroad. It is not obvious to me that self-employed status would have been retained in circumstances where the work has dried up and your client has gone abroad for a period of 8 months - presumably having detached entirely from the UK labour market and having significant difficulty in showing he was actively seeking work. I would probably be encouraging him to put whatever he can in place to be able to show that he is in fact now engaged as a self-employed person in the UK (either that or find alternative work).