The CIOT’s low incomes tax reform group (LITRG) has welcomed the recommendation in last week’s report by the House of Commons work and pensions committee that the ‘self-employed’ should be given at least ‘worker’ employment status, unless the engager of their labour can prove otherwise.
The CIOT’s low incomes tax reform group (LITRG) has welcomed the recommendation in last week’s report by the House of Commons work and pensions committee that the ‘self-employed’ should be given at least ‘worker’ employment status, unless the engager of their labour can prove otherwise.
The LITRG believes that the denial of employment rights to people working in the ‘gig economy’ and the exploitation of other flexible workers regarding their taxes have the following features in common:
the workers’ own lack of knowledge;
reluctance to challenge their treatment because they lack confidence or just need the work; and
the businesses involved apparently have little fear of action being taken against them by public bodies.
Anthony Thomas, LITRG chairman, said: ‘By essentially reversing the burden of proof regarding “worker status”, these issues become more manageable.’ Following the work and pensions committee’s recommendations, he added: ‘We can only hope that the business, energy and industry strategy committee (BEIS) and the Matthew Taylor review reach similar conclusions.’
In a submission last year to a BEIS committee inquiry on the ‘future world of work and rights of workers’, the LITRG recommended that ‘worker’ status should apply to everyone ‘unless it can be shown that they are genuinely self-employed’.
The CIOT’s low incomes tax reform group (LITRG) has welcomed the recommendation in last week’s report by the House of Commons work and pensions committee that the ‘self-employed’ should be given at least ‘worker’ employment status, unless the engager of their labour can prove otherwise.
The CIOT’s low incomes tax reform group (LITRG) has welcomed the recommendation in last week’s report by the House of Commons work and pensions committee that the ‘self-employed’ should be given at least ‘worker’ employment status, unless the engager of their labour can prove otherwise.
The LITRG believes that the denial of employment rights to people working in the ‘gig economy’ and the exploitation of other flexible workers regarding their taxes have the following features in common:
the workers’ own lack of knowledge;
reluctance to challenge their treatment because they lack confidence or just need the work; and
the businesses involved apparently have little fear of action being taken against them by public bodies.
Anthony Thomas, LITRG chairman, said: ‘By essentially reversing the burden of proof regarding “worker status”, these issues become more manageable.’ Following the work and pensions committee’s recommendations, he added: ‘We can only hope that the business, energy and industry strategy committee (BEIS) and the Matthew Taylor review reach similar conclusions.’
In a submission last year to a BEIS committee inquiry on the ‘future world of work and rights of workers’, the LITRG recommended that ‘worker’ status should apply to everyone ‘unless it can be shown that they are genuinely self-employed’.
