Report: The minimum required?

Around one-in-seven people in the UK workforce are now self-employed and are not entitled to the minimum wage. The Resolution Foundation has investigated whether the minimum wage should be extended to this group.

Key findings:

• A minimum wage would not be appropriate for the majority of the self-employed. However, for those who do not have control over the price they charge, a minimum wage would reduce exploitatively low pay.
• Existing legislation on 'piece work' could provide a useful template to ensure a person working at an average pace could be expected to earn at least the minimum wage.
• Other issues such as greater enforcement of employment law and closing the gap in the tax and benefit treatment of the self-employed and employees, needs to be tackled.
• Ensuring firms using self-employed labour set fair rates will help to provide better quality self-employment.

The report outlines several recommendations to help protect self-employed workers from exploitation.