UK government to close loopholes enabling bogus self-employment for up to a million workers

During his speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds pledged to eradicate bogus self-employment, a scheme that denies basic rights to up to 900,000 workers. He will unveil a formal consultation aimed at giving clearer legal status to such workers and potentially extending statutory rights like the National Minimum Wage and holiday pay. The plan also proposes stronger safeguards for authentic self-employed individuals, covering health and safety, blacklisting, and written contract statements.

By de-emphasising the personal service test and considering a legal presumption of worker status in tribunals, the government hopes to curb misuse of substitution clauses in gig-economy roles. Trade union General Secretary Paul Nowak hailed the announcement as a decisive effort to close exploitative gaps and urged a timetable for a single worker status. If adopted, the reforms could reshape employment practices across the UK’s service and delivery sectors.