Many contractors believe Brexit will have a negative impact

Recent findings revealed that 44% of self-employed workers think Brexit will have a negative outcome on their work, compared to just eight per cent who think it will have a positive impact.

The survey, compiled by the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA) and cloud accounting software provider FreeAgent, found that it is the younger generation that feel the most concerned.

Interestingly, 13% of all self-employed workers are looking for contract work overseas in anticipation of a negative Brexit impact.

Julia Kermode, chief executive of FCSA, said, “If the impending losses from the self-employed pool due to concerns over the impact of Brexit were not significant enough, the additional loss of at least 13% of the limited company group of workers who have already decided to quit freelancing and contracting in the UK come April 2020 when the off-payroll reforms hit will have a further impact on the UK plc’s access to the necessary skills to weather the country’s ongoing uncertainty. The very workers who traditionally prop up the economy in uncertain times will simply not be there in sufficient numbers.”

She added, “From our respondents we know that 67% have been in business for under five years. They are the new generation of agile entrepreneurs with all the skills we need in the future and 82% are male, those who work in STEM occupations where the UK already has a shortfall of skills – we cannot afford to lose them. Our country is going through some tough times just now and the working landscape for our flexible talent does not look particularly rosy – our Government needs to acknowledge that freelancers and contractors are key to our economy and need help, reassurance and certainty.”

Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, commented, “Time and again policy makers continue to ignore the fact that the self-employed have none of the employment rights or the security that comes with permanent employment. They seem to be intent on crippling what is a very important and growing part of the UK economy, at a time when the wider economic impact of Brexit will potentially leave many of these businesses at risk.

“I believe we need to be nurturing and encouraging this sector and, in particular, the younger cohort of the UK’s freelancers and contractors. They are the generation of business owners who have the skills and drive we need to be successful as a nation, regardless of when – or if – Brexit takes place.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@contractorumbrella.com.