A joint letter has been written to the Chancellor, urging him to create a Freelance Commissioner and Future Workforce Commission in order to save the self-employed sector.
The letter has been constructed by the IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), the Creative Industries Federation, Prospect and the Federation of Small Businesses, and argues that a Freelance Commissioner will help to ‘build more resilience into this workforce and ensure no worker falls through the gaps’.
As previously reported there have been massive gaps in support for certain self-employed workers during the pandemic, with the letter stating that because of this, ‘we’re at real risk of losing those people and skills forever’.
Derek Cribb, CEO of IPSE, commented, “Our vital freelance sector is in a state of crisis. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen the biggest drop in self-employed numbers on record. Incomes have been hit hard and too many freelancers have fallen through the gaps in government support, pushing some into PAYE jobs but many more into debt and the benefits system.
“In the short-term, we continue to urge the Chancellor to fix the gaps in support and look again at the many policy proposals to help limited company directors, the newly self-employed and other forgotten groups. For the long-term, however, we are asking for a dedicated Freelance Commissioner – to look at freelancer support, to build the resilience of the sector and to champion the UK’s crucial freelance community.”
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