| | By John Brazier
The economic problems
both at home and abroad
will ensure the next
twelve months will be
testing for everyone in
the UK.
The spectre of
redundancies, public
sector cut backs and
financial uncertainty
will cause many to
welcome in the New Year
with a degree of
trepidation, but I
believe that if there is
one sector of our
community ready for the
challenges ahead it is
the UK’s growing
freelance community.
By their very nature
this is a skilled,
resourceful and flexible
group able to adapt
quickly to the needs of
clients. This acceptance
that freelancers and
contractors play a
growing and influential
role in our economy was
underlined by the recent
PCG poll carried out by
ComRes.
There were many
fascinating insights
into the impact of
freelancing and why more | |
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| | and more people are
choosing freelancing as
a lifestyle choice, but
I would draw your
attention to a couple of
results from the
survey:
Of the 668 businesses
taking part in the poll,
a resounding majority
gave a vote of support
to freelancers. 60% of
business leaders confess
that it would be
difficult for their
business to operate
without freelancers and
well over half of
business leaders polled
said freelancers were
essential to growing the
UK economy.
The flexibility of
the freelance community
was underlined with 64%
of businesses approached
saying the concept of a
traditional ‘9 to 5 day’
was old hat and didn’t
apply to those who
worked for them. Despite
economic doubts, around
three quarters of
businesses envisage
opportunities for
freelancers within their
organisations to
increase or at least
stay the same in the | |
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| | next 12 months.
In a letter to PCG
the Prime Minister David
Cameron perhaps best
summed up the growing
appreciation of
freelancers and the role
they play. He said of
our sector:
“I can’t tell you how
much admiration I have
for people who leave the
comfort of a regular
wage to strike out on
their own. It takes a
lot of courage –and
without that courage
this country would be a
much poorer place.
“The 1.4million
freelancers in our
country make a massive
contribution to our
economy. More and more
people are choosing
freelancing, recognising
that it strikes the
right balance between
work and life in the
21st century, and as we
go for economic growth
this Government is
getting right behind
them.”
The Prime Minister is
spot on to recognise
that more and more | |
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| | people see freelancing
as a choice where they
can get the right
balance between work and
lifestyle.
PCG will continue to
work with and for our
members. Our Chairman
Chris Bryce will ensure
PCG’s voice is heard at
the Consultative
Committee of the newly
formed Office of Tax
Simplification as they
review small business
taxation including IR35.
Our goal has always been
for a fairer and more
transparent tax system
for freelancers.
PCG continues to
explore, expand and
engage. In Europe we
will continue to
formally liaise with our
European partners in
order to head off any
possible unhelpful
legislation.
Our campaigning on
the abuse of
intra-company transfer
permits (ICTs) has
yielded a number of
changes to immigration
policy as has our
lobbying on the question
of security clearances, | |
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| | a persistent issue for
many members. On both
issues PCG has made much
progress, but we
continue to be both
vigilant and vocal while
working positively with
government agencies.
We continue to
develop relationships
with a variety of
organisations and at a
personel level I was
delighted to be asked in
2010 to join the CBI's
Trade Association
Council, one of the
three ‘policy input’
channels that CBI rely
on.
PCG is the UK’s
biggest organisation
representing some of our
1.4 million freelancers.
We are a young
organisation that
continues to grow,
mature and evolve. Our
voice is informed and
incisive. Our arguments
are both cogent and
convincing.
The toast for 2011
from the PCG is quite
simple… New year, new
challenges, new
opportunities. | |
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