self-employed

Business Performance up Among UK Freelancers

January 28, 2015 News

Increase in freelancing work predicted for 2015 yet freelancers remain only partly optimistic The freelancing and self-employed community witnessed an increase in work towards the end of 2014, with continued rise expected for 2015, according to the latest Freelancer Confidence Index. The survey, published by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), and freelancer platform Elance-oDesk, found that in the final quarter of 2014 freelancing contracts accelerated and resulted in an income increase of 7.4%. Overall freelance confidence was up with 53% of Elance-oDesk members expecting a rise in revenue in 2015 and 70.9% of IPSE members believing that revenues will either rise or remain at 2014’s levels. However 51% of the respondents also predict that their over... »

Self-employed Unable to Afford Pension Payments

December 1, 2014 News

Only 17% of self-employed workers surveyed regularly contribute to their pension, with 6% planning to “never stop working” Research has revealed worrying statistics regarding pensions for self-employed workers. The number of self-employed people has risen to 4.6 million – making up 15% of the UK workforce – but 52% admit to having no plans to start putting money into a pension. The report, conducted by financial services group Prudential, found that 43% of entrepreneurs have no pension with the majority (57%) citing affordability as the reason against one – the majority of entrepreneurs are re-investing profits back into their business. Only 17% regularly contribute to their pension and 6% add to theirs when they can. Of the entrepreneurs who have decided against putting money into a pensi... »

Record Numbers Become Self-employed

June 23, 2012 News

In the three months February to April 2012, almost 4.2 million people were registered as self-employed; that’s the highest figure since records began back in 1992, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This comes on top of figures of falling unemployment as the rate falls to 2.61 million, down by 51,000 vs the previous quarter. Private sector employment also saw an increase as 205,000 more people found work in the private sector, whilst 39,000 more lost their jobs in the public sector – The South West of England suffered the biggest loss of public sector posts. Gerwyn Davies, labour market policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), welcomed the fall in unemployment and the rise in private sector taking on staff, but was cauti... »

Graduates Choose Self-employment

August 5, 2010 News

Almost a quarter of students graduating this year and in 2011 are making plans to set up their own business, research from insurance firm Hiscox has revealed. The poll of 1,000 students carried out in June 2010 found that 32% already have a business idea and are making plans for it to become a reality. It also highlighted that one in three were considering working for themselves due to the current shortage of jobs. “There is evidence to suggest that the slowdown in the post-recession job market has been a driver for graduates to start their own business,” said Hiscox SME expert, John Heaney. “This is unsurprising considering nearly two-thirds of the students we surveyed were concerned that they might not be able to secure a job post university, and almost a third believed that there are ju... »

Self-employed to Receive PPI Compensation

Self-employed to Receive PPI Compensation

October 7, 2009 News

Self-employed people who have been mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) could receive compensation under new rules announced by industry watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Lenders have been instructed by the FSA to review 185,000 individual cases about PPI cover, whose complaints were arbitrarily dismissed. The financial watchdog said that lenders had rejected 60% of PPI complaints they received. Of these, 16% had gone on to the Financial Ombudsman Service, where 80% of these were upheld in the customer’s favour. PPI is designed to protect borrowers from the risk of defaulting on debt payments if they fall ill or become unemployed. However, the cover has been widely criticised as being sold to people who may never be able to make a valid claim such as the self-em... »

Employed or self-employed?

September 15, 2006 People

IR56 – Employed or self-employed? A guide to employment status for tax and National Insurance Contributions Introduction This general guide to employment status for tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will help in deciding whether you are an employee or self-employed. Although it is aimed at workers, it will also be useful for those who engage workers. Your employment status will affect how much tax and NICs you pay and how it will be collected. The type of National Insurance (NI) that you pay will affect some types of benefits, for example, whether you can receive Statutory Sick Pay when you are unable to work through ill health. The person you work for needs to decide your correct employment status. It is their responsibility and it is important that they get this right... »