May Day report by MPs damns growing UK gig economy

Work and pensions committee says employers force workers into bogus self-employment and free-ride on welfare state

Companies in Britain's growing gig economy are forcing workers into bogus self-employment and free-riding on the welfare state, an influential committee of MPs has said.

In a damning assessment of modern employment practices, the parliamentary work and pensions committee calls on the next government to bring laws up to date so that workers are better protected from exploitation. Given concerns about the rising number of workers classed as self-employed contractors with no access to sick benefit or holiday pay, it wants the default status for people in the gig economy to be "worker" rather than "self-employed".

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