A New Deal for Self-employment

Self-employed people in Wales need a new deal to boost their financial security

Self-employment has increased in the last ten years and now accounts for nearly one in seven workers across Wales. The proportion is even higher in rural areas such as Powys and Ceredigion. 

While working for yourself can bring many advantages, for some self-employed workers it brings financial insecurity and poverty. The Bevan Foundation has found the average income of a self-employed person is less than two-thirds the income of an employee. In addition, self-employed people have to cope with fluctuations in work and they often cannot get the help that is available to employees on a low income. 

The Bevan Foundation is calling for the Welsh Government to take action. It says it should do more to support self-employed people to run their business better to increase their incomes, for example by providing micro-loans and bite-sized training. But because many people opt for self-employment to manage caring responsibilities or a disability, or because there are fewer other opportunities locally, the Welsh Government should also encourage different ways of promoting businesses for example using co-
operative and mutual models.

Self-employed people on a low income are especially hard-hit by unexpected events like sickness. Unlike employees, they cannot usually get minimum sick pay and are sometimes denied other social security benefits. The Bevan Foundation is calling for Welsh grants and allowances to people on low incomes to make sure that they do not exclude people because of their employment status.

Format: PDF
Language: English
Pages: 44

An earlier report – ‘On the edge’ looked at trends in self-employment in depth – it is available here

This project has been supported by the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, which funds research, policy work and campaigning activities to tackle financial problems and improve living standards for people on low-to-middle incomes in the UK. It is an independent charitable trust registered in Scotland (SC040877).

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