Businesses and employees are calling on the UK government to provide more protection for those who work in the gig economy. In a survey of nearly 5,000 workers and over 100 businesses by leading jobs board totaljobs, 90 per cent of employees and 87 per cent of employers say more regulations were needed to protect the rights of gig workers.
Growing the gig economy
The gig economy has been on the rise for several years and 64 per cent of employers believe it’s importance will only continue to grow in the next year, as individuals turn to self-employment in favour of more flexible working arrangements. This is backed up by an annual 24 per cent increase in the number of contract and freelance roles advertised, and a 36 per cent rise in candidate applications, according to totaljobs.
It’s predicted that five million people work in the gig economy in the UK, representing around 16 per cent of the total full and part-time workforce. Forty-three per cent of businesses surveyed said they already employ gig workers and almost half of those (45 per cent) who don’t, said that they would do so in the future.
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Flexibility helps employers and employees
Thirty-five per cent of gig workers said they did so because of the greater flexibility it offers compared to the traditional nine-to-five, 32 per cent said it’s because they couldn’t find full or part-time work, whilst one in five (22 per cent) said it was to get experience in a different industry.
There are benefits for businesses too. Seventy-nine per cent of employers said they employed gig economy workers to offer flexibility to their business. Forty per cent says it’s to fill a gap in the team, and over a third (35 per cent) said it’s to help them scale their operations up or down.
David Clift, HR director, totaljobs, says, ‘It’s great to see that employers and employees are united in calling for broader rights and protections for those working within the gig economy. Public awareness of the gig economy focuses primarily on courier services and drivers, but it’s vital to remember that more and more people from a wide range of sectors are adopting flexible working options. With the Taylor Review highlighting the issue some four months ago, our research shows that all sides are on the same page, and waiting on ministers to make improvements to protect freelance, contract and zero-hours workers.’
Plugging the economy’s productivity gap
The gig economy could also provide a solution to the problems with the UK’s productivity, which fell for a second quarter in a row in the three months to June. Eighty per cent of employers said that employees who work flexibly were more productive in the workplace.
There could also be unexpected benefits for unemployment which is currently at its lowest level since 1975 as 41 per cent of unemployed people in the UK said they’d consider working in the gig economy.
Further reading on gig workers
