Recent ONS figures have shown that the number of self-employed workers in the UK has fallen by 240,000 compared to this time last year.
The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) believes that this just shows the ‘devastating impact of the gaps in support’, reflecting the urgent need for better support for everyone within the self-employed sector.
Derek Cribb, CEO of IPSE, commented, “We see today that the number of self-employed has fallen to 4.56 million, wiping out the growth of the last five years. This shows the devastating impact of the gaps in government support for the self-employed during the first wave of the pandemic.”
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Email JaimeCribb added, “It is deeply concerning that as we move into the second wave, the government has not only failed to plug the gaps in support that caused this decline: it has also reduced the support for eligible self-employed people. In locked down areas, the self-employed can claim only 20 per cent of their earnings from government, compared to 67 per cent for employees – an even more glaring disparity than before.
“Today’s figures should be a loud alarm bell for government that its policies have undermined the economically vital self-employed sector. In times of recession the self-employed are key to driving recovery, government choices mean the sector is now struggling to save itself, let alone the economy.
“We urge the government to make sure all self-employed people affected by the pandemic (including previously excluded groups) can access a comparable level of support as employees. If this economically essential sector is to drive recovery further down the line, the self-employed urgently need more and better support now.”
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