Dear Alec Whitworth

Thank you for contacting me about self-employment and your concerns around Universal Credit. 

As the Association for Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) highlights, the UK’s 4.3 million self-employed can be found in all parts of the economy from carpentry and consultancy to plumbing and project management. I recognise and appreciate the significant contribution that they make to our economy and society, as well as the unique challenges they face.

I am committed to supporting and championing the self-employed. I therefore note the range of recommendations made in IPSE’s manifesto and can assure you that I will keep them in mind when considering issues related to self-employment during the course of this Parliament.

I am already committed to supporting action in a number of areas where IPSE has raised concerns. For example, I support plans to strengthen rights and protections to help self-employed workers thrive in good quality self-employment. This includes the right to a written contract, which would benefit freelancers, action to tackle late payments, and extending health and safety and blacklisting protections to self-employed workers. I also believe that Government plans to strengthen trade union rights will benefit self-employed workers.

In addition, I back calls to move towards a simpler, two-part framework for employment status. I am pleased that the Government has said it will consult in detail on this framework to differentiate between workers and the genuinely self-employed. I believe this will help ensure the framework can properly capture the breadth of employment relationships in the UK, adapt to changing forms of employment and guard against a minority of employers using novel contractual forms to avoid legal obligations, while ensuring that workers can benefit from flexible working where they choose to do so.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this important issue. I can assure you that I will continue to support and champion the self-employed.

Yours sincerely

Steve Yemm MP

Member of Parliament for Mansfield