Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the recommendation of the publication of the Julie Dean Self-Employment Review, what steps he has taken to calculate the effect new policies will have on the self-employed sector in the last 12 months.
Answered by Margot James
The independent Matthew Taylor review on employment practices in a modern economy is considering the impact of non-standard working arrangements on employment status and employment rights, and as part of his review he has considered a range of available papers, including Julie Deane’s Review. That review will be reporting in the summer.
We have also announced we will be looking at parental benefits for the self-employed.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the recommendation of the publication of the Julie Dean Self-Employment Review, what steps he has taken to review the equal treatment and recognition for the self-employed in the last 12 months.
Answered by Margot James
The independent Matthew Taylor review on employment practices in a modern economy is considering the impact of non-standard working arrangements on employment status and employment rights, and as part of his review he has considered a range of available papers, including Julie Deane’s Review. That review will be reporting in the summer.
We have also announced we will be looking at parental benefits for the self-employed.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to tackle the use of self-employed people as agency workers by businesses.
Answered by Margot James
A self-employed individual decides how they undertake work. This could include identifying a suitable role via an agency and it is for the work-seeker and agency to agree the type of contract that they will be engaged under.
Individuals seeking work through an agency, regardless of circumstances outside of the agency relationship, are protected by the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulation 2003 and the Agency Worker Regulations 2010.
The Taylor review on modern employment practices is considering the impact of non-standard working arrangements on employment status and employment rights.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether Matthew Taylor's independent review into modern employment practices will consider whether the recent growth in the self-employed workforce represents a genuine wave of entrepreneurship and a desire for flexible working or a tool for businesses to hold down pay and restrict workers' rights.
Answered by Margot James
The wide ranging independent Review of Modern Employment Practices is considering if the current definitions of employment status need to be updated to reflect new forms of working.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned new research looking specifically at the gig economy. The research will look at the number of individuals working in the gig economy in the UK and the motivations, experiences and skills of these individuals. The research should be ready in the Summer.
The Review is also considering to what extent the growth in non-standard forms of employment, including self-employment, undermines the reach of policies like the National Living Wage, pension auto-enrolment, sick pay, and holiday pay.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, following the independent self-employment review of February 2016, what steps he is taking to introduce a new adoption allowance for self-employed people.
Answered by Margot James
The Government will consult in the summer on whether there is a case for greater parity in parental benefits between the employed and the self-employed.
Local Authorities may make a payment equivalent to Maternity Allowance in cases where adopters do not qualify for family related statutory pay because they are self-employed. This payment is discretionary and means-tested to ensure that resources are targeted at those adopters who need it most and is part of a package of post-adoption support.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, following the independent self-employment review of February 2016, whether he plans to introduce a legal definition of self-employment.
Answered by Margot James
The independent Matthew Taylor review on employment practices in a modern economy is considering the impact of non-standard working arrangements on employment status and employment rights. That review will be reporting in the summer with recommendations which this Government will consider.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether Matthew Taylor's independent review into modern employment practices will consider whether people in self-employment should share the same characteristics of workers and should therefore be entitled to sick pay, annual leave and the national living wage.
Answered by Margot James
The current employment framework means a person’s entitlement to employment rights is determined by their employment status. The wide ranging independent Review of Employment Practices in the Modern Economy is considering the impact of non-standard forms of employment on security, pay and rights.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether Matthew Taylor's independent review into modern employment practices will consider whether those moving from employee positions to self-employment are being driven by positive choice or through market forces.
Answered by Margot James
The wide ranging independent Review of Employment Practices in the Modern Economy is considering how employment rules need to change to keep pace with changes in the way people work in the modern economy, including the rapid recent growth in self-employment and the shift in business practice from hiring to contracting.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned new research looking specifically at the gig economy. It will look at the number of individuals working in the gig economy in the UK and the motivations, experiences and skills of these individuals. The research should be ready in the Summer.