Labour should match employees’ entitlements to a string of workplace benefits, including sick pay and parental leave, for millions of self-employed people across the UK to help it win the next election, according to a new report.
The Fabian Society, a left-of-centre thinktank, has also proposed giving self-employed people the same rights as employees (who have long had better protections) on health and safety, discrimination and whistleblowing.
Crucially for the 4 million people who work for themselves in the UK, which includes freelancers, the report also suggests a clampdown on late payments, including giving big businesses a 60-day deadline to pay small traders.
Self-employed workers have been among the worst-hit by years of economic turmoil, and their earnings have remained stagnant over the last decade, the report reveals. Average take-home pay for the full-time self-employed increased by only £500 a year in real terms between 2012 and 2022 – compared with £2,300 a year for employees.
The group could be a key electoral block at next year’s election, with about 1 million self-employed workers living in marginal constituencies, the Fabians believe. Although the self-employed preferred the Conservatives in 2019, the report suggests they are now more likely to back Labour.
The report, titled “Working for you: a manifesto for the self-employed”, sets out a plan for how Labour can reach the traditionally sceptical group in the run-up to polling day next year, and also suggests offering free training courses, making all training tax-deductible and piloting a training bursary.
The thinktank, which is affiliated to Labour but is not formally drawing up party policy, also said ministers should appoint a “government champion” for the self-employed, to push through changes in policy if the party wins power.
The manifesto, co-written with two unions representing the self-employed, Community and Prospect, also recommends building a new pension system for the self-employed, with access to Lifetime Isas up to the age of 60, an opt-out self-employment pension, and higher tax relief.
Labour has already committed to extending health and safety protections to self-employed workers so that they are not burdened with unfair and unsafe risks, to ensuring the right to a written contract, and to tackling late payments. The party has also said it will replace business rates with a fairer system.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, who will speak at the launch of the report on Tuesday, said: “For too long, self-employed workers have been treated by this government as nothing more than an afterthought, but they will help power Labour’s mission to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7.
“Self-employed and freelance workers come from every walk of life, and work in nearly every industry, from the arts to the tech sector, with growing numbers of women opting for self-employment. They work hard and rightly expect to be able to get on.
“Self-employed workers are vital to getting our economy growing again and seizing the opportunities of the future. They deserve respect. Never again will they be forgotten and excluded as they were during the Covid pandemic.”
Andrew Harrop, general secretary of the Fabian Society, added: “The self-employed will be a vital electoral bloc when the next election comes. But their earnings have been flatlining for years and they do not believe they receive the support they deserve for the contribution they make.
“This manifesto sets out practical ideas for how to improve working life and financial security for the self-employed. Taking inspiration from these proposals, Labour politicians can reach out to self-employed people and show they are ready to meet their needs and aspirations.”
