Recommendation 8

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted in Part

The self-employed workforce is crucial to the success of the UK’s world-leading creative industries. These sectors have over double the number of self-employed workers as a proportion of the workforce compared to the rest of the economy, and there are many benefits associated with this including responsiveness and high levels of innovation. Self-employed workers represent at least a fifth of the creative industries workforce in every region in the UK, with proportions particularly high in the North East, South West, and Wales. Being self-employed can offer potential benefits such as flexibility and control. 1 The Good Work Review shows that 72% of workers in the creative industries claimed autonomy over their hours, compared to 52% across the economy overall. Self-employed workers make up a large proportion of the creative industries, and are also numerous in sectors such as construction, transport and health/social care, 2 with 4.26 million in the economy as a whole. 3 Self-employment plays an important role not only in supporting high-growth sectors like the creative industries, but also in tackling wider labour market challenges such as job quality and retention. Strengthening job quality for the self-employed should help to create career opportunities for more people from diverse backgrounds, drawing upon the wealth of talent that exists across the country. The government recognises that being self-employed can also come with challenges such as not having access to statutory sick pay. We recognise that many self- employed workers in the creative industries would value greater job security—and that the sector’s reliance on self-employed or freelance work can leave it vulnerable to a skills shortage. The government is committed to considering the voices of the self-employed as we develop policy for the creative industries. It will be important to work closely with industry and employers to ensure that conditions for creative self- employed workers address the challenges while continuing to provide flexibility. The Plan to Make Work Pay sets out an ambitious agenda to ensure employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and contribute to economic growth. 4 Once implemented, it will represent the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation. Make Work Pay is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all. The Next Steps to Make Work Pay provides an overview of the Government’s approach to delivery. As is typical with employment legislation, further detail on many of the policies in the Bill will be provided through regulations, and in some cases codes of practice, after Royal Assent. We expect to begin consulting on these reforms in 2025, seeking significant input from all stakeholders. On 10 October, the Government fulfilled its Manifesto commitment to bring forward legislation within 100 days of entering office by introducing the Employment Rights Bill. It will be key to delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay but is just one piece of the puzzle. The Government has been clear that some parts of the Plan to Make Work Pay will take longer to develop and implement. For example, the Government intends to consult on moving towards a single status of worker. As part of this consultation, we will explore how to implement the targeted and specific manifesto commitments to enhance protections for the self-employed. As part of this work, we want to strengthen rights and protections to help self- employed people thrive. This includes the right to a written contract, which for example would benefit freelancers; action to tackle late payments; and extending health and safety and blacklisting protections to self-employed workers. Self- employed workers will also benefit from our plans to strengthen trade union rights. We also recognise the importance of a voice for the self-employed in policy-making, including in the creative sectors. DCMS and its public bodies, including Arts Council England and the British Film Institute, recognise the importance and needs of the self-employed, and are taking proactive steps to support them. In 2023/24, Arts Council England supported more than 1,200 individual practitioners through National Lottery Project Grants totalling almost £30 million, and more than 1,200 individuals through the £14.5 million Developing Your Creative Practice programme. The government and its public bodies also provide guidance, for example Arts Council England’s online toolkits help practitioners and employers by setting out good-practice approaches on recruitment, working with creative and cultural practitioners, and signposting to additional resources on issues like commercial/business management, safeguarding, and networking. We will work closely with the sector to deliver positive change for the workforce. The Good Work Review, published in February 2023 by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Ce