With the recent news concerning self-employed couriers being paid below minimum wage, the IPSE has responded to the news that courier firm Hermes faces calls for an HMRC investigation into its engagement of self-employed workers.
Last month, the Prime Minister was being urged to launch an inquiry into self-employed couriers being paid below minimum wage.
In a recent carried out by The Guardian, which looked into the earnings, hours and expenses of couriers for Hermes, it was found that many self-employed workers were being paid well below the national living wage.
The company has been managing to get away with this treatment due to the fact that contractors are not covered by the national living wage legislation.
The IPSE’s (Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) Director of Policy and External Affairs, Simon McVicker, commented, “It is right for HMRC to investigate this very serious issue. A minority of unscrupulous firms are taking on workers and treating them as employees – but under the guise of self-employment – and denying them the basic employment rights they’re entitled to.
“The vast majority of the self-employed workforce love what they do and have no desire to be given the same rights as employees, but those who should in fact be employees must be guaranteed rights such as a minimum wage, sick pay and holiday pay.
“It’s essential the Government makes an example of companies that try to circumvent the rules – and makes clear that using “bogus self-employment” purely as a means to cut costs is completely unacceptable.”
Daniele Cantello is an Contract Manager for Contractor Umbrella Ltd, one of the UK’s Most Respected Umbrella Companies. Learn more about Daniele on Google.
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