UK government targets bogus self-employment loopholes
Genuinely self-employed people would also gain a right to a written statement about their contracts, under the proposals.
The UK government has launched a consultation on bogus self-employment loopholes, with plans it says could help more than 900,000 people access protections such as the National Minimum Wage and holiday pay.
Bogus self-employment is a practice in which some businesses mislabel staff as self-employed to avoid statutory obligations, according to the government.
The government said the day-to-day reality for many of the people concerned is that they are treated as workers, not as self-employed. It said external estimates suggest that as many as 900,000 people may be affected by this and could be missing out on core employment rights.
Parcel couriers, delivery drivers, hairdressers and gig economy workers are among those the proposals could help, the government said.
The measures are set out as part of the government’s Plan to Make Work Pay.
“When loopholes are exploited, people are denied their basic employment rights and businesses doing the right thing are undercut,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said.
Reynolds added that the proposals were about “creating fairness that works for businesses and working people alike” while continuing to back the “flexibility and independence” of genuine self-employment.
What the consultation proposes
The consultation page, published by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, says the government is seeking views on proposals for:
- placing less emphasis on personal service when determining worker status
- improving compliance with the employment status framework, including through a presumption of worker status and enforcement measures
- strengthening protections for the self-employed, including through written statements, blacklisting protections and health and safety protections
For people who are genuinely self-employed, the government said, the consultation also proposes extended protections against blacklisting, alongside a right to a written statement about individual contracts they enter.
The consultation looks at employment status for employment rights. The government said it has no proposals related to tax status or tax frameworks.
Ministers are keen to hear how the practice can be stopped while protecting, and enhancing, the rights of the genuinely self-employed, the government said. Businesses, workers, trade unions, self-employed representative bodies and others are invited to respond through GOV.UK.
The consultation opened on 14 October 2026 and closes on 8 January 2027. The government said it will run for 12 weeks.
