The government has missed an opportunity to remedy the confusion surrounding employment status – an issue that continues to concern freelance contractors.
Such is the verdict of the Professional Contractors Group, which says a Westminster debate on Wednesday came close, but ultimately failed, to recognise the legal and commercial uncertainty.
“The government is getting there, but they’ve not completely got it yet,” said John Kell, group policy officer.
“The minister's comments contained a number of useful points with which we would agree, but we would have liked a fuller recognition both of the nature of freelancing and the problems it currently faces.”
The debate included Lorely Burt, Liberal Democrats' small business spokesperson, and Jim Fitzpatrick MP, minister for employment relations.
Ms Burt opened the debate by outlining the significance of freelance contractors and consultants to the UK’s economy, before relaying the problems undermining their contractual relationships.
She argued the case law confusion surrounding the Dacas and Muscat judgments, in which an agency worker and a limited company contractor were controversially awarded employment rights, is damaging commercial certainty.
Supporting concern voiced by the PCG and UNICE, a European lobbyist for SMEs, the MP said a recent Green Paper from the European Commission on the subject is, "a pig's breakfast."
The minister’s acknowledgement of freelancers and contractors as being in business on their own account was welcome, the PCG said.
“We agree that genuinely self-employed people do not have a contract of employment with whoever they are working for; they usually charge a fee, pay their own tax and have their own business in their own right."
Less positively, Jim Fitzpatrick repeatedly began discussions talking of temporary agency workers more generally.
Ms Burt intervened to clarify the distinction between "temps" and skilled contractors.
PCG said it hopes that when the minister responds to Mrs Burt in writing he will clarify his apparent confusion between temporary or short-term employment contracts and commercial contracts for services such as those used by freelancers and contractors.
“Despite the occasional ambiguities over different types of workers, we’re pleased that the minister has again acknowledged the vital importance of labour market flexibility to the economy,” Mr Kell added.
“We also look forward to working with the DTI to develop a consensual response to the Green Paper as Jim Fitzpatrick helpfully suggested, and would like to thank Lorely Burt for raising these important issues in Parliament.”
Dec 11, 2006
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