Will changes to gig economy worker employment rights affect your SME?  

28/02/2018 07:21
If you run an SME, you’ll know that one of the most important parts of your business is your staff and the way that you treat them at work. 

Every business needs to fulfil certain guidelines when it comes to protecting their staff and if they fail to do so, they run the risk of being in breach of the law. 

Recently there has been talk of the government taking steps to modernise worker’s rights in the UK, but what will this mean for your SME? Read on to find out. 


Changes being made as a result of the ‘gig economy’

If you work in business and haven’t heard the term ‘gig economy’ being used recently, it’s likely that you need to make more of an effort to keep up to date with current affairs, because this is something that is set to change the entire face of the way that modern organisations operate. 


Essentially, a gig economy is one that relies on short-term contracts of freelance work as opposed to longstanding positons within companies. 


This type of working setup has elicited various responses. While some think that is a good opportunity for workers to operate in a more flexible way, others are concerned that it is going to result in employees receiving little workplace protection. 


If you employ freelance workers within your SME, it’s important that you get to grips with the way in which things might be about to change. 


The proposals 

As was highlighted by Theresa May in one of her speeches, the structures that are in place with regards to workers need to reflect the current working environment. 


The current proposal includes: 

  • Enforcing workers' holidays and sick pay for the first time and introducing the right for all workers to request a more concrete contract which should subsequently provide them with more financial security. 

  • Defining "working time" for flexible workers who find jobs through apps or online so they know when they should be being paid.

  • Asking the Low Pay Commission to consider higher minimum wage rates for workers on zero-hour contracts.

  • Quadrupling employment tribunal fines for employers showing malice, spite or gross oversight to £20,000.


If you operate an SME and employ any freelance workers, it’s worth considering how the suggestions laid out in this proposal might affect you. 


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