Umbrella company contractors may be interested to hear that the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) have called for better pension provision, maternity allowance and research into the contracting sector.
This was its response to the parliamentary Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee inquiry into ‘the future world of work and the rights of workers’.
A level playing field with regards to maternity allowance and pension provision is what the IPSE believes in – as well as an increased focus on enterprise education in schools, colleges and universities.
Simon Vicker, IPSE Director of Policy and External Affairs, commented, “The number of self-employed in the UK has grown so rapidly in the last few years that it now represents 15% of the entire workforce. But employment law, and the tax system, has not yet caught up.
“It is important that the self-employed are clearly segmented, which is why we highlight detailed research as a first step towards clarification. Only when we truly understand who the self-employed are, can we properly determine what support they need.
“We cannot forget that the more highly skilled self-employed professionals have grown in number more rapidly than the lower skilled since 2011. The two ends of the spectrum will not want, or expect, the same rights. We should support those that are vulnerable, and maternity pay and pension provision are two clear areas for this, but we should also make it clear that unscrupulous businesses cannot be allowed to push people into self-employment. It undermines their rights and gives genuine self-employment a bad name.”
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.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/110070221086071620829
Trusted by over 1,200 employees |