SELF-EMPLOYMENT - TO BE OR NOT TO BE?
After the end of the Second World War Britain was bankrupt. We funded loans from the USA and Canada, and these loans were called in as soon as war ended. Rationing was introduced at the start of the war and lasted until July 1954.
The government put many industries into national ownership for the benefit of the people, and in 1948 the National Health Service (NHS) was created. Although we were victors against Germany, victory was costly in social and domestic terms.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that the highest employment figures were recorded in 1872, 1943 and 2018 at 76 per cent of the working age population. The 1943 figure is particularly interesting because it was in the middle of the war.
So the question arises when did self employment begin in the UK? This ques- tion is difficult to answer but from the 1970’s onwards, self employed people seemed to increase at a progressive rate. Bearing in mind that the taxi trade has had self employed drivers and propri- etors for many years, especially in London including the cab trade when horses were used.
Self employment has been a main fea- ture of the UK labour market. In recent years the number of self employed people have increased from 3.3 million in 2001 (12 per cent of the labour force) to 4.8 million (15.1 per cent of the labour force) in 2017. A large percent- age of self employed people work irregular and unsociable hours with unstable working patterns. You need to look no further than the taxi and pri- vate hire drivers who regularly work long hours either waiting for a job earn- ing nothing, or dealing with the
night-time economy when we become a dustpan and brush service to take revellers home.
If you cast your mind back to the spring budget of 2017, when the government attempted to increase the national insur- ance paid by the self-employed, Government plans were withdrawn due to the backlash from the public in the first week.
Self employed include an increase num- ber of highly skilled professionals. Four million of them work in industries such as agriculture, the building trade, hairdress- ing and of course our own industry. Possibly the reasons why they become self employed are because they might believe they could earn more money working for themselves? They also have independence and flexibility when they work. There is also another important factor and that is the unwillingness to retire at 65. Age discrimination might also play a big part in driving the over 50’s to go self employed, particularly in the taxi/private hire and chauffeur busi- ness?
We of course have the GIG economy, the definition of this word GIG by the Office of Tax Simplification defines “an environ- ment in which temporary positions are
common and organisations contact with independent workers for short time or on-demand engagements.”
Companies such as Uber and a host of others, are being challenged in courts over their use of self employed contrac- tors to provide services, with unions claiming they are in fact treated as though they are employed workers and should qualify for employment rights as identi- fied in the 1996 Employment Rights Act.
Most self employed people are sole traders and in the UK, it is at its highest level since records began. There is also an increase in women in self employment, although men are the dominant gender.
According to Francis O’Grady, TUC general secretary, there is limited access for peo- ple to move out of self employment. She is concerned that older people are still working as self employed because they cannot afford to retire. The downside is no holiday or sick pay and no employer to contribute to a pension scheme.
It is time the government realised the benefits of the self employed and what they bring to the economy and the coun- try. In these extremely difficult times let us all hope that taxi and private hire drivers are able to access the Self- employment Income Support Scheme backdated to March 2020, and its contin- uation as announced by Rishi Sunak recently.
Keep Safe. Ian Hall
Chairman Southampton Hackney and Private Hire Association (SHPHA)
southamptonhackneyassociation.co.uk
SO PROUD OF OUR TRADE!!
80 JUNE 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112
