Business leaders back calls for self-employed support

Business leaders in Lancashire are backing calls for the self-employed to receive more support. A recent study carried out by businesswoman Julie Deane showed that self-employment in the UK has reached an all-time high, with over four million self-employed professionals in the country.

Deane has now called for self-employed professionals to receive the same rights as company employees, stating that they should not be disadvantaged.

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The North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce showed its support for the study, with Chief Executive Babs Murphy stating: “We obviously take a great interest in businesses of all shapes and sizes but we also have an attachment to those smaller start-up companies.”

She added: “That’s because we run the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) New Enterprise and Allowance (NEA) initiative which helps people on benefits to start up their own businesses.”

Murphy went on to state that many of those start-ups have been set up on a self-employed basis, and that it would be a “huge shame” if other self-employed people were unable to receive the same support that has been offered to founders of those companies.

Barriers

Deane’s report said that the self-employed should receive the same maternity rights as employees, and called for an increase in maternity allowance so that they are provided with the same financial support.

British Chambers of Commerce Executive Director of Policy Dr Adam Marshall showed his support of the report, stating that it is time to “sweep away the barriers” that stop people from going down the self-employment route.

He added that “slashing red tape and the burdens of tax administration” would not only benefit the self-employed but also a vast number of small and medium-sized businesses across the UK.