The approach depends on who is supported directly (is it the self-employed as an individual or their enterprise as an entity?) and the aim of the supported actions. Individuals benefiting directly from the ESF+ support are those persons whom the operation aims to support (i.e. the target group) and specific expenditure is earmarked for their participation. Hence, if the action aims at helping self-employed persons as individuals to enhance their skills (e.g. by providing individual training or coaching), then they should be counted as participants under EECO05 (‘Employed, including self-employed’). In that case, their enterprise is benefitting indirectly, and it should not be counted under EECO19 (‘Number of supported SMEs’). If by contrast, the aim of the action is to help companies (e.g. by providing hiring incentives or legal/accounting advice for the sake of the company) then, the supported SMEs should be counted (under EECO19). The self-employed or the individuals who were hired should not be reported under the relevant common output indicators (as they both benefit indirectly from the ESF+ support). If necessary, programme-specific indicators can be set to capture the groups that are not benefitting directly from the ESF+ support (e.g. number of unemployed hired thanks to the support to SMEs).
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