Union chiefs tonight launched an inquiry they hope will help bring Britain's self-employed workforce “back from the brink”.
An army of tradesmen, creatives and entrepreneurs have been clobbered in the coronavirus crisis, with workers' leaders fearing a “stampede” away from self-employment.
A probe into how to help the five-million strong sector aims to gather evidence and publish a report this autumn setting out how ministers can help.
Announcing the Inquiry into the Future of Self-Employment, Prospect union general secretary Mike Clancy said: “The coronavirus pandemic has brought tens of thousands of self-employed workers in the UK to the brink.
“Jobs and livelihoods are at risk and whole sectors such as the creative industries are facing an uncertain future as their workforce have been left with little or no support from the Government.
“The Government needs to react fast to halt the stampede away from self-employment and give people confidence that if they opt to be self-employed, they will be supported when times get tough.
“I hope that the team of experts we have assembled can arrive at solutions to these issues and persuade the Government to sit up and take notice of the plight of the self-employed in Britain.”
Unions say that while the pandemic has hit all parts of the economy, the self-employed have been particularly badly affected with work drying up and millions falling through the gaps in Treasury support schemes.
The inquiry, backed by money saving expert Martin Lewis, will include Conservative former Skills Minister Anne Milton, Labour MP Abena Oppong-Asare, who is a parliamentary aide to Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds, and Institute of Employment Studies director Tony Wilson.
Areas the inquiry will examine include the future tax system for freelancers and the self-employed, what a safety-net for those workers should look like, and job security and employment rights for contractors and freelancers on pay-as-you-earn contracts.
Community union general secretary Roy Rickhuss said: “The self-employed workforce contributes huge amounts to our country both to our economy and in our communities.
“Despite this, as it stands government policies, practices and support put self-employed people at a disadvantage.
“The plight that has faced thousands of self-employed people throughout this pandemic is unacceptable and highlights the fragility of the situation for so many of the UK’s self-employed.
“Our self-employed community has grown significantly over recent years and, as a result of the impact of the pandemic on our economy, we will likely see more people seek out new ways of working.
“As this shift continues to build, it is time to get this right, to ensure self-employed people are on a level playing field with employees and that no-one is left behind.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “As the Chancellor has said, throughout this crisis we have sought parity between employees and the self-employed providing more than £13billion to over 2.6 million self-employed small businesses.
“This support for the self-employed has been among the most generous in the world.
“We recognise the continued challenge facing self-employed people, which is why we’ve extended our Self-Employment Income Support Grant Scheme to support millions of self-employed right through to April next year.”