[IER] Bogus self-employment under the spotlight

Fri Oct 21 16:38:48 BST 2016

IER News Brief 21/10/16

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news brief

Friday 21st October 2016

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False self employment is finally making the headlines as the HMRC announced it would investigate delivery company Hermes <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=3f2a009ae3&e=71131c031b>  following complaints from workers that they have been misclassified as self employed.

The move could open a much-needed investigation of the so-called "gig" economy, in which people take on "self-employed" roles that turn out to be anything but, thereby missing out on basic employment rights like the minimum wage, sick pay and annual leave. As those working for companies like Hermes, Uber and Deliveroo state that they are 'managed' by an employer and do not feel they can choose their hours of work, it has been argued that they should be legally classified as 'workers' with all the additional rights this status entails.

The Institute of Employment Rights (IER) has argued for years that businesses are exploiting workers who are misclassified as self employed, initially focusing on the construction industry where the practice was prevalent. Now, bogus self-employment is a burgeoning problem in the economy along with zero-hours contracts and agency work, all of which provide employers with a means to evade providing their workers with statutory employment rights.

Although the Tories boast of an increasing employment rate, recent TUC research <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=0cbfb58321&e=71131c031b>  showed a massive 88% of the "new jobs" created in the economy in the three months to July were 'self employed' and almost one in six of all UK jobs are currently classed as self employment opportunities. This week, research from the Resolution Foundation <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=57bbb45883&e=71131c031b>  revealed that these workers' earnings has fallen dramatically, down by £60 per week compared with 2001-02.

In our Manifesto for Labour Law - 25 policy proposals adopted by the Labour Party <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=8aea28d02a&e=71131c031b>  - 15 leading labour lawyers and academics brought together by the IER recommend a review of the way 'worker' is legally defined to ensure employment rights encompass those currently in precarious and insecure work.

Our Chair and co-lead author of the Manifesto John Hendy QC will discuss this issue at the 2016 Class Conference - Britain at a crossroads: finding the progressive path <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=9f32ebc699&e=71131c031b> . John will join Director of Class Faiza Shaheen; Steve Turner, Assistant General Secretary of UNITE; author Nick Srnicek; Thompsons Solicitors Head Stephen Cavalier; and Carys Afoko, Communications Director at Sum of Us, in a session entitled The Gig Economy & Zero-Hour Contracts: The New Battle Line.

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