Proposed law champions the self-employed
Jan 23 2002
A new private member’s Bill, currently before Parliament, may save self-employed entrepreneurs the time and trouble of continually having to keep re-proving their independent status, if it becomes law.
On 9 January Mark Prisk, Conservative MP for Hertford and Stortford introduced a ‘Right to Be Self Employed Bill’. This would create a central Self Employed Register, which those currently self-employed could use just once to record their status.
More than four million people in the UK are self-employed according to the Government.
Mr Prisk said that the onus is constantly on the individual wishing to become self-employed to prove their status. “That is not, as it may seem, a simple process, because the regulations are based not on consistently applied criteria but ever-changing case law.”
The bill is based on original proposals put forward by The Federation of Small Businesses in June 2000.
The Federation’s David Bishop said that many self-employed people have to prove their status year after year. The small business organisation supports these new proposals as they move the burden away from the individual and onto the State, “so that the individual does not have to take on the might of the authorities.”
Mr Prisk said that, “reliance on changing case law represents an appalling waste of time and money.” He estimates that if half of the four million self-employed individuals lose two hours a month dealing with the legislation, then three million working days in all are lost to the economy every year.
As well as proposing a register for the self-employed to declare themselves as such to the Inland Revenue and relevant government departments, the Bill would allow Government agencies to challenge that registration within a period of up to, say, six months.
Existing guidelines for the self-employed, particularly regarding their tax status, can be found at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/pdfs/ir56.htm .
With thanks to Lloyds TSB Success4Business. For more news and information visit www.success4business.com.
(21/1/02)