Self-employment concerns

This follows a recent radio programme examining the potential scale and nature of false self-employment in the UK labour market. Speaking on Radio 4’s File on 4 Investigates, LITRG Technical Officer Meredith McCammond said it was ‘frankly ludicrous’ that low-paid workers in factories, offices or shops were being classed as self-employed, adding that it was hard to see how false self-employment would not be used as a loophole by some hirers to avoid the raft of new measures coming in via the new Employment Rights Act.

Meredith added: ‘Because false self-employment cuts across both tax and employment rights, oversight and action must do the same. We are calling on HMRC and the new Fair Work Agency to work together on a coordinated strategy to address false self-employment and maintain confidence in both the tax system and the labour market.’