FALSE SELF-EMPLOYMENT

That this House is aware that false self-employment, where workers are registered as self-employed but have all the characteristics of an employee but none of the employment rights which accompany such a status, is endemic in a number of industries in the UK, notably the construction industry; acknowledges recent research commissioned by the trade union UCATT, the Evasion Economy, prepared by Professor Mark Harvey which estimated that there are at least 400,000 false self-employed construction workers in the UK, which costs taxpayers approximately £1.7 billion per year; and believes that the Government should act immediately to end such practices both in the interests of the economy and more importantly for those who are forced or encouraged into such employment scenarios by unscrupulous employers whose intent is merely to make a fast buck, whatever the consequences for those they employ.