Single Status of Worker

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 15th April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

As always, it is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders) for highlighting this matter. It is a pleasure to see the Minister in her place; I wish her well in her new role. I think this is her second or third Westminster Hall debate, and she has done a fair bit in the Chamber.

Although I agree with the principle of what the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough said, I want to highlight the issue for businesses back home. They are not against the principle or object of a single status of worker, but we need a balance. With respect to other Members, I would like to tease that out.

The issue is incredibly complex and must be teased out from all angles. While I agree with the backdrop of ensuring fairness, I will highlight the risks of casting a long and perhaps damaging shadow over the small businesses and entrepreneurs who are the very lifeblood of the Northern Ireland economy. In my constituency, small and medium businesses create the most jobs, so it is for them that I am here today. I wish to be their voice in Westminster Hall.

No one in this House, and certainly no one in my party, supports the exploitation of workers. We have always stood for the right of every individual to be treated with dignity and to receive the pay that they have earned by the sweat of their brow. Where bogus self-employment exists to undercut the law, it must be met with firm and decisive action.

By the same token, we must not allow a desire for simplicity to lead us into a harsh overhaul that sometimes ignores the economic reality on the ground. For many, the current limb (b) worker status is not a trap but a choice that offers a vital compromise of flexibility that a rigid, one-size-fits-all employment contract simply cannot provide. I ask that the Minister takes my thoughts, and probably those of others, on board to ensure that we can provide protection for workers while at the same time not disadvantaging the small businesses in my constituency.

Our primary concern is for the small business owner—for example, the shopkeeper in Newtownards, the start-up in Ballynahinch and the family firm down in the Ards peninsula, all in my Strangford constituency. These employers are not faceless corporations. They are people who take risks to provide jobs for their neighbours. We have to be aware that in attempting to prevent abuse, we could be preventing job creation or retention by burdening them with the same administrative and financial burdens as multinational giants. Will the Minister ensure that small businesses—the lifeblood of my constituency—are protected? Rather than necessarily protecting workers, the Government may be jeopardising the very jobs that they rely on.

We must remember that jobs are not abstract concepts; they are costs. In the early stages of any business, every new hire is an investment that takes time to repay. We want to encourage businesses to continue hiring and rehiring, but they also have to have the prospect of a future, and a sense of where that leads. If we put our thumb on the scale against employers by removing the space they need to make vital judgments, we will potentially choke opportunity and harden the barriers for those who are currently on the margins of the workforce.

Let us focus on economic delivery and transparency. Let us empower businesses to grow, rather than stifling them with red tape. We need common sense, not ideological rigidity. We should be building a dynamic labour market that respects the need for flexibility, rather than one that forces every worker and business into a single, restrictive box. That is why the conversation—this debate—must be fulsome, taking into account the effect on small businesses, which account for 90% of all the workers in Northern Ireland. That is how massive this issue is, and shows the impact it could have on us. Those 90% of workers in Northern Ireland businesses do not have a human resources department to keep them right.

I am pleased to be part of this conversation, and I hope that all Members will take my views on board in a positive and respectful way. I am keen to achieve what the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough wants to achieve, but I am also conscious of ensuring that we can bring businesses along too. If we can do that, it is a win-win for everyone.