National Freelancers Day 2016

Posted on 09/06/2016 by James Collings

NATIONAL FREELANCERS DAY - CHAIRMAN'S SPEECH

Good evening and welcome to National Freelancers Day.

It’s great to see so many new and familiar faces – thank you all for coming.

My name is James Collings, and I am the Chairman of IPSE, the largest and most important membership organisation for the self-employed in the EU – well that’s if we stay in it!

 

The theme of National Freelancers Day 2016 is “how to be at the top of your game.”

This year we’re very lucky to have one of the UK’s leading training providers, QA Training, support the Freelancer of the Year Awards.

As more people make the choice to go it alone, it's vital that they get the right training to stay ahead of the competition.

In the year ahead, we will build on the IPSE Academy, our own training hub providing discount schemes, and we’ll work closely with leading organisations like QA to ensure freelancers have the tools they need to compete at the highest level.

 

Looking back over the last six months, it’s already been a busy year for IPSE.

We held our first ever Policy Conference in April, where we brought together leading political figures to debate a wide range of topics, from tax to freelancing mums, and from the construction sector to making sure you get paid on time.

The Conference opened with special message from the Prime Minister praising those who, as he said, “turned their living rooms into workshops, their kitchens into offices and their bedrooms into stock rooms to be their own bosses.”

The whole day was a huge success – and I’m extremely proud of every single IPSE staff member who helped to make this happen.

 

We’re doing much, much more this year to represent the growing number of creative freelancers.

The graphic designers, the copywriters, the developers and the filmmakers.

So we’ve made sure we’re there for you all with a bespoke, brand-new offering.

It includes all the business support and lobbying as the standard IPSE membership package, but also more tailored benefits too. For instance we’ve partnered with Adobe to offer discounts on their premium services, and we’re also offering discounts on training courses for design and marketing, to help creative freelancers reach the top of their field.

Only recently, one of the UK’s leading supermarkets got themselves into hot water after inviting artists to ‘voluntarily’ redo a canteen. This kind of attitude is a widespread problem for creative freelancers – and it cannot continue.

That’s why we’re also working with the Freelancer Club on the No Free Work campaign to help address the exploitative culture of unpaid work, which often plagues the creative sector.

There’s a stunning new IPSE creative website – which I recommend taking a look at if you’d like more information.

All of this means IPSE is well on its way to becoming one of the UK’s leading business organisations.

 

The way we work is changing.

There are now 1.91 million freelancers in the UK.

Who contribute 109 billion pounds to our economy.

And our research shows that once they begin freelancing, only two per cent want to return to employment.

So it will be no surprise to see the number of freelancers and their contribution to our economy increase over the next few years.

We believe this is something worth celebrating.

With thanks to our sponsors, we’re able to showcase and reward the fantastic work of freelancers from all over the UK. And we’re lucky to have 15 of these individuals in the audience with us today.

 

Now to the evening ahead. We really have a great line-up for you all tonight.

First up, you will hear from our host, Tom Rosenthal, followed by our keynote speaker, Christer Holloman.  And of course, we’ll be announcing the winners of the IPSE QA Awards, to see who will be crowned the nation’s freelancers of the year.

Before we begin may I say a few words about our host this evening.

He is one of UK comedy’s rising stars, who has received widespread praise for his lead role of Marcus in ITV2’s hit sitcom Plebs and of Johnny in Channel 4’s Friday Night Dinner. We’re very lucky to have him with us here today.

So ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming to the stage, Tom Rosenthal!

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IPSE Policy Conference 2016

Posted on 26/04/2016 by James Collings

Can I just I say how grateful IPSE are to the Prime Minister for taking the time to make that address. It’s encouraging to hear he believes that the Government has a clear role in supporting the self-employed community.

Hello everyone and welcome.

The self-employed now represent 14 per cent of the UK’s workforce. This is an astonishing figure – it adds up to about 4 point 6 million people.

You are the key policy makers and industry representatives for small businesses and the self-employed across the United Kingdom. Thank you for being here.

We have a superb day in store for you, with an array of fantastic speakers and debates that will tackle the key issues facing micro-businesses and the self-employed.

 

Why did IPSE decide to hold this first Policy conference now?

Because the way we work is changing. Almost five million people are self-employed and they bring billions to the UK economy. And that number is growing.

We need the country to recognise this.

Many are now making the decision to work for themselves. And why not? From being your own boss to having that better work life balance, the benefits certainly outweigh the challenges.

 

We rebranded a couple of years ago with an aim to cater for and support the wider world of self-employment.

By doing so we developed our understanding and knowledge of the sector, and the many strands and industries within it.

We are now the largest organisation in the EU that represents independent professionals and the self-employed.

That’s why it’s now time to hold our first policy conference and ask: how can we enhance the enormous contribution the self-employed make to the UK economy.

We need to show just how big an impact this way of working has on our economy and the way people lead their lives today.

We also believe that as the influence of the self-employed has grown – so has the influence of IPSE.

 

In the last year we’ve seen a number of IPSE policy recommendations taken up by the Government.

  • We will soon see the introduction of the UK Small Business Commissioner – which IPSE called for in its manifesto, and recently came to fruition in the Enterprise Bill.
    With the Commissioner, small businesses now have an independent body to help resolve their disputes, which are often around late payment.
    What the Government now has to do is appoint the right person as the Commissioner.
  • IPSE’s call for a review into self-employment was taken up by Government and led by one of our guest speakers Julie Deane. And we’re delighted she is joining us today.
    It was great to see her review adopt so many of IPSE’s policy recommendations – from fair maternity pay and flexible pension solutions, to better education on self-employment for young people, and for advice and support to be more readily available.
    There were a lot of really innovative ideas in this review, and we will be pushing the Government to ensure it moves them forward. We’d like to see all of the report’s recommendations acted upon.

    Julie, on behalf of IPSE, a big thank you for all your hard work.

 

I’m also pleased the Minister for Small Business Anna Soubry and her labour counterpart Bill Esterson, will be addressing us later.

 

Make no mistake, IPSE listens to our members and the voices of self-employed workers up and down the country. And just as importantly, the Government listens to IPSE.

 

When I was appointed as Chairman last year, I vowed to support and protect the UK's freelancers and seek further opportunities to build and grow the influence of IPSE as a leading business organisation.

This Conference is part of that – I know there is so much ambition and scope for IPSE to do even more.

As the self-employed go from strength to strength, we want to continue working and building closer relationships with you all. Let’s make sure this community continues to be well represented in business, in the halls of Parliament and in the devolved administrations.

We’re also working with the press and media so that they fully understand how people want to work in the 21st century.

 

This conference is truly a significant occasion, I urge you to get as much from today as you can.

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Contractors to profit from improved benefits and sector insight, says IPSE chairman

Posted on 14/12/2015 by James Collings

(First published  http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/contractors_benefits_insight_ipse_chairman_509610_news.aspx)

EXCLUSIVE: IPSE chairman James Collings briefs ContractorCalculator on new strategy implementation. Contractors are to benefit from a raft of measures implemented by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) over the coming year, including new research into the contracting sector as well as improved access to benefits.

“We are now getting the measures in place to achieve our goals,” he explained to ContractorCalculator’s business correspondent at a face-to-face interview in IPSE’s headquarters in Westminster.

“We will have evidence-based arguments to be able to explain to Government and policymakers that contractors are valued members of the business community, and that they are enablers for so much more.”

As well as continuing to make strides to influence policy, and making efforts to provide contractors with new benefits, Collings notes that IPSE is still working to try and secure access to maternity pay for people working for themselves.

Altering the public perception of contractors

Appointed chairman in July 2015, Collings has been a member of the IPSE board since 2008. A capacity manager in the IT sector, he has been contracting since 1998, and highlights benefits in terms of flexibility and lifestyle as major factors behind his decision to make the leap into contracting.

Those 17 years spent in the contracting sector have had a significant influence on Collings’ primary goal: “My overriding aim is to ensure contracting becomes viewed as a legitimate way of working. IR35 came into play shortly after I had begun contracting, and it was evident back then that the Government didn’t consider contracting to be a valid way of work.”

Collings also highlights the expansion of membership as a priority, with his specific role being to set the strategy and hold the organisation to account for delivery, although he also contributes by offering a contractor’s perspective to the organisation.

“They’re [the IPSE team] the experts. I bring the membership perspective, the contractor’s mind set and the contractor’s needs and requirements.”

CRSE offers “a significant step towards change”

When asked about what significant progress has been made over the first six months of his watch, Collings identifies the formation of the IPSE-supported thinktank, the Centre for Research on Self-Employment (CRSE), as a measure which is set to heavily influence public policy.

“For a long time, when both IPSE and the wider contracting community have been forming arguments, the counter-argument has always been: “Where is the evidence?”

“The research carried out by the CRSE is set to be a complete game-changer. It will provide evidence, on the back of which you will get policymakers who are actually prepared to listen and understand. So that, for me, is a huge thing that we have been able to deliver on.”

Collings also highlights the Government u-turn over contractor access to travel and subsistence relief and, less recently, the appointment of a small business commissioner and the review into self-employment as further examples of IPSE’s achievements.

“It’s great because I can remember the days when we would get together and nobody would listen to us. We’ve forgotten how far contracting has come in the past 15 years, and the drive is still there to gain even more recognition and influence.”

Bridging the gap between contractors and employees in terms of benefits

For the convenience of working flexible hours, contractors have long had to make do without certain benefits that many permanent employees enjoy, as Collings’ highlights:

“When you consider the leap from permanent work to contracting, that leap used to mean that you would suddenly have no benefits of any kind. Now, we don’t want benefits in terms of holiday pay, but what about the benefits that employees often receive in terms of discount schemes and gym memberships?”

IPSE is working to bridge this gap by offering its members various consumer discounts through its ‘IPSE Advantages’ scheme.

“We now have the same terms and benefits for contractors, and there’s more to come in terms of closing that gap and making it less of a case of giving up everything,” Collings adds.

IPSE pushing for maternity pay for contractors

One area of contention amongst many within the contingent workforce concerns the lack of access to sick pay and maternity pay. Whilst IPSE has worked hard to deliver other benefits to contractors, Collings highlights that these issues are still high on the agenda.

“One of our manifesto pledges was maternity pay for the self-employed, and it’s being listened to. It’s within the scope of the self-employment review which we also called for, so the Government is taking a really serious look. I would suggest the solution for sickness pay comes out of an insurance-based product that the contractor can choose to take out.”

IPSE has already seen support on the maternity front, after Labour pledged to extend maternity pay to the self-employed at its party conference in September, with the organisation hoping for some cross-party support on the issue in the New Year.

However, Collings flags up holiday pay as an unnecessary protection, noting: “We accept the risk of being in business because we are in business. This is a valid way of working. We’re not employees and so we don’t require all the protections that employees receive. We can take care of certain aspects ourselves.”

IR35 continues to pose the biggest challenge

Government proposals and measures introduced over the past six months have provided cause for concern amongst the contractor community, with the Summer Budget 2015 having a particularly wide-ranging impact. Unsurprisingly, Collings identifies this as the biggest challenge that IPSE has faced since he became chairman.

“The first budget [of this new Government] really was a surprise to everybody, and that was a huge challenge, but we rose to it. We faced up each measure, including the travel and subsistence proposal and the IR35 announcement, and fought them back.”

However, whilst the outcome regarding IR35 may not ultimately be as bleak as once feared, the ongoing saga and surrounding questions continue to provide cause for concern for Collings and IPSE.

“Whilst the Government accepts that IR35 is unwieldy and burdensome, the question as to how this issue progresses from here will remain the overriding challenge,” concludes Collings. “We’ve consulted with our members widely on this, so we’re definitely putting forward their point of view and helping to shape the argument moving forward.”

Published: Monday, December 14, 2015

 

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