Self-employment, either through freelancing or working as an umbrella company contractor, could become the new normal by the end of this coming decade.
Or at least that’s what major contracting site Elance says in its latest research study. The site conducted a poll of new graduates, discovering that more than 8 out of every ten feel that it will be completely normal to work in self-employment by 2020. Additionally 90 per cent of survey respondents said that working for yourself is more rewarding than a more traditional permanent employment relationship.
This doesn’t surprise me in the least, especially when there are independent reports revealing that the highest paid freelance workers in the UK earn something like three times what a typical employee would earn, give or take regional differences. By and large the Government is responding to the new trends as well, especially with the new Budget announcements referring to how more and more effort is being made by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs to ensure that everyone who says they’re self employed isn’t just doing so in order to get around tax avoidance rules. HMRC is indeed increasing their investigations into freelancers and contract workers, as last year alone saw more than 250 IR35 cases investigated – a massive jump from the less than 60 investigations that occurred the year previous to that one.
Still even with the heightened scrutiny of the Government I doubt that it’s going to do much to dissuade new graduates from seeking employment opportunities through freelancing or working for an umbrella company. The allure of deciding your own hours and in many cases being able to work from the comfort of your own home is strong, as is also not being beholden to one employer or company for your livelihood. While it’s true that many self-employed need to work harder to find projects to work on, with the skills shortage wreaking havoc with the country at the moment a skilled and qualified contractor usually has their pick of positions. While this won’t last forever of course – eventually either the workforce will increase the relevant skills needed to satisfy demand or these positions will be outsourced elsewhere, leading to a drop-off for freelancers as well as permanent employees – people still are pointing to self-employment as the way to go for the newest crop of graduates both now and in the immediate future.
