Working for you: a progressive manifesto for the self-employed
Bectu has launched a new report with the Fabian Society and Community trade union, proposing a set of policies to help self-employed people thrive at work.
Self-employed workers contributed £305 billion to the UK’s economic output in 2019 – 14% of GDP. Bectu represents over 20,000 self-employed workers in a range of roles.
Despite their contribution, self-employed people get a raw deal. They are more exposed to the ebbs and flows of the business cycle, and lack many of the protections enjoyed by employees, such as sick pay, parental rights and pensions.
Any party with ambitions to govern should have a plan to meet these challenges. There could be approaching five million self-employed voters in the next general election, with around a million in the marginal constituencies that will play a decisive role in the outcome. Any party who ignores self-employed people will be hit at the ballot box.
This manifesto proposes policies to improve working conditions, financial security, and business support for the self-employed and micro-businesses. It covers those who operate under a range of statuses and designations including sole-traders, limited companies, partners, freelancers, subcontractors, fixed term contractors and ‘limb b’ workers – essentially everyone in work who is not an employee under both employment and tax law.
To celebrate the launch of the manifesto, Bectu held a panel event alongside Community and the Fabian Society, to discuss the recommendations made and answer any questions on the future of self-employment.
The expert panel was chaired by Community’s Head of Research, Policy and External Relations Kate Dearden. Speakers included:
- Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Shadow First Secretary of State, Angela Rayner MP
- Prospect General Secretary, Mike Clancy
- The Fabians Senior Researcher, Sasjkia Otto
- Freelancer and author of Labour’s Start-Up, Scale-Up report, Tom Adeyoola
- Bectu member, freelancer and member of our Unscripted Committee, Dean Webster.
It was great to hear from such a variety of perspectives, particularly from Dean who spoke passionately about his own experiences, and the poor treatment of freelancers in the film and TV industry. Our members are highly skilled professionals and are critical to the success of the UK’s creative sector. We will continue to fight for a better deal for creative freelancers, including extension of employment rights, pay and conditions.