According to the Federation of International Employers (FedEE), growing pressures in the labour market are giving rise to the need for a new form of working relationship and a fresh deal for social welfare.
A new wave of flexible employment is rapidly emerging in the form of ‘gig jobs’. Such staff find themselves in pseudo-employment relationships, where they operate as if they were employees, wear company uniforms, drive company-badged vehicles, take work instructions from managers in the business they work for—but are actually contractors without any form of welfare, or employment protection—and usually without any guaranteed working time.
Therefore, the FedEE is calling for:
- A new category of independent worker entitled to welfare insurance and a measure of notice—but not other types of employment protection.
- The conduct of a study into value for money in social security insurance systems.
- The imposition of a cap on the total contributions to social security (by employers and employees) and a requirement that social security is not treated as a general tax.
- An exploration of the greater role that could be played by private insurers in handling all state social security schemes.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
