News

24 Jul 2018

Self-employed trend set to stay

The latest labour market statistics show that the number of self-employed people in the UK has remained stable at 4.8 million.

It means that sole traders account for 15% of the working population contributing £270 billion to the economy annually.

Freelancer body IPSE said that the data on self-employment proves that it is a ‘permanent, not cyclical, part of the employment landscape’.

Tom Purvis, IPSE\'s economic and political advisor, said, "These statistics show that the shift towards self-employment is truly here to stay. More people than ever are looking for flexibility in the way they work, and self-employment gives them just that.

“What is fantastic to see is that much of the growth in self-employment has come from women working full-time. Self-employment is invaluable not just for new mothers, but also because it opens up opportunities for over-65s and people with disabilities to get meaningful work."

However, IPSE is urging the Government to do more to support self-employed workers. Mr Purvis said, "The Government must ensure that self-employment remains a positive option for all 4.8 million self-employed across the UK.

“To do this, above all it must scrap its plans to extend the changes to IR35 to the private sector. This would hurt self-employed people and businesses alike, not to mention reducing productivity and weakening growth across the economy."

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that policy-makers treat sole traders as an ‘afterthought’. FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said, "It\'s encouraging to see the self-employed community going from strength to strength. It\'s disappointing, though, that in so many respects they don\'t receive the basic support they\'re due."

Key issues for sole traders include benefits and pensions, he said. "More needs to be done to encourage the self-employed to save for the future. Only one in five self-employed workers has a private pension, that compares to four in five employees. It\'s vital that the work and pensions secretary delivers on the promise of a pensions dashboard so savers can track their investments effectively."

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