Government urged to introduce self-employed statutory sick pay

With so many self-employed professionals suffering financially during the pandemic, the government are being urged to introduce statutory sick pay to the sector.

Research from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) revealed that over half (58%) of self-employed workers believe that they should have access to sick pay.

This could be due to the fact that 52% of those questioned said they currently don’t feel supported by the government – this figure is at 67% among limited company contractors, many of whom found themselves excluded from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

As a result of this, the IPSE and Community are calling on the government to allow the self-employed sector to be entitled to statutory sick pay.

The report also found that self-employed professionals believe they should be entitled to:

• Pension contributions (cited by 49%)
• Maternity and paternity pay (44%)
• A minimum wage like employees (40%)

Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy at IPSE, said, “The financial devastation of the pandemic – combined with the gaps in support – have left the freelance sector in a more unstable position than ever. Freelancers now do not feel supported by government, and it must clearly rebuild its relationship with this vital sector.”

Kate Dearden, Head of Research, Policy and External Relations at Community, added, “This year, the self-employed will contribute an estimated £316bn in turnover to the UK’s economic recovery. The contribution that they make to our country and local economies is vital. Yet many of the U.K.’s 4.3 million self-employed workers, through no fault of their own, find themselves one illness away from financial hardship.

“We wouldn’t accept this for any other workers, so why must we accept this for the self-employed? Other countries such as Canada and Denmark have shown us there is a way to support the self-employed through periods of illness, and our own government has shown during the pandemic that they can spring into action and create support systems when they have the will to do so. If Boris Johnson and our government is serious about Building Back Better, they can start with the millions of self-employed that are the backbone of the U.K. economy.”

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