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CEO update July 2022: Tory leadership, late payments and more
- 4 Aug 2022
They say a week is a long time in politics, well it's been quite a number of weeks for the country. In July, we’ve had the Chris Pincher scandal, the end of Boris Johnson’s time as Prime Minister, and the start of the Tory leadership election.
CEO Update July 2022
At IPSE, we haven’t let these issues derail our campaigns and priorities. Despite a number of unprecedented weeks in British political history, we’ve focused on tackling the issues that matter to thousands of freelancers including the cost-of-living crisis, IR35 and HMRC’s recent investigation into Managed Service Companies.
Over the course of the past month, we’ve worked closely with the government on its new Future of Work review and we have written to the newly appointed Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, on the pressing issues facing those that work for themselves. In particular, we’ve called on the Chancellor to enact an immediate increase in mileage allowance. Read more about our recent campaigning efforts here.
We’ve also kept a close eye on the Conservative leadership election. Following the end of the first round, we know that the Prime Minister will either be the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak or the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. We’ve written to both leadership candidates about the challenges facing freelancers and we look forward to working with whoever wins.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what we think about the Tory leadership election, then you can read the blog here on what a Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak government could mean for self-employed workers.
Late payments
Late payments have long been a scourge to the self-employed. They have a devastating impact on small businesses and are arguably more serious than ever during a cost-of-living crisis, when costs are rising, and wages and fees are struggling to keep up with inflation.
In July, we launched brand-new research into the impact of late payments on the self-employed to help tackle the problem. The research found that over a third of self-employed workers (35%) haven’t been paid on time in the last 12 months - with nearly one in five (18%) reporting that they had to wait over three months beyond the agreed payment deadline for a client to send over what they are legally owed.
The research has been covered by the Small Business Commissioner and we plan to use the data to get more attention from other government bodies over the coming weeks and months.
As part of our campaign, we’ve updated our advice on how freelancers can chase clients for invoices on the IPSE website. We have also launched a new Payment Practices Index – the index has payment information on over 6,000 businesses and can be used by freelancers to check the payment practices of potential clients.
Brazel case
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court struck down Harpur Trust v Brazel in a unanimous decision. While the case wasn’t widely reported in the media, the verdict has serious consequences for part-time workers and umbrella companies, and how they receive/ calculate holiday pay.
Following the decision, we’ve spoken publicly about the need for the government to clear up the confusion that surrounds holiday entitlement and pay, particularly for those who work outside of traditional, full-time employment. You can read our full thoughts about the case and what it means for part-time workers in the blog here.
New Hiscox partnership
This week, we announced a new partnership with home insurance experts Hiscox. The partnership gives IPSE members a 10% discount on home insurance with Hiscox and enables them to cover their homes and possessions. Read more about the new deal here.
New LinkedIn newsletter
At IPSE, we’re always looking for ways that we can better connect with our members and the wider self-employed community. That’s why, we’ve recently launched a new LinkedIn newsletter called Freelancing in Focus.
The newsletter is a fortnightly easy-to-read blog on self-employment from experts at IPSE. So far, we’ve published thoughts from our Director of Policy, Andy Chamberlain as well as my monthly CEO updates on what we’re doing at IPSE.
Sign up to the newsletter here.
Advice
Need more help? Self-employment often means having to navigate lots of different websites with no clear source of truth. As the only not-for profit focused on self-employment, IPSE provides impartial and relevant advice on the topics that matter to you.
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