DIY Investor Magazine
|
Oct 2017
29
By Laurence Taylor
Founder and Chair of
Easy As 123
excessively reticent to lend to self-employed people,
treating them as second-class citizens, which is
increasingly ironic in an age of decreasingly secure
employment.
If self-employment, flexi-working, and portfolio careers
are going to become the M.O. of not just 1 in 6 but say
1 in 2 of us, then there is another significant issue: it is
clear that lots of people struggle with the administrative
aspects of working for themselves, not just the annual
self-assessment return itself but basic financial
management, providing for their tax liability, thinking
about pension alternatives, and so on.
There is a real need for people to be educated in how to
look after things (and maybe that should start at school),
as all too often they are focused on the job itself and not
the responsibilities that they have to take on in place of
an employer.
Maybe it’s time for them to have a serious rethink?
I have been self-employed for most of my 22 years of work, and the total bookkeeping
solution I have founded, Easy As 123, wants to get busy at the sharp end: helping self-
employed contractors register for HMRC (not simple, especially given that many have
English as an Additional Language and reading difficulties), taking care of their books
every month, advising how much tax to put aside, and submitting their returns (which will
be every 3 months under HMRC’s Making Tax Digital plans).
This should go some way towards reassuring the government that at least contractors are
on the tax radar and paying their fair share, and in return we believe that companies should
offer ‘employee benefits’ and access to pensions and savings advice. We will be watching
developments with interest.
FLEXIBLE WORKING IN WHATEVER GUISE IS HERE TO
STAY AND WILL FURTHER UNDERMINE THE NOTIONS
OF EMPLOYEE STATUS AND JOBS FOR LIFE
