13 April 2017

Three-quarters of UK workers would prefer a traditional job over taking part in the so-called 'gig economy', in which "self employed" contractors (many of whom have been found to be misclassified as which) take on jobs for companies like Uber, Deliveroo and courier companies.

This is according to a survey by recruitment company Glassdoor, which found only 13% of respondents would consider a 'gig' job and one in five felt that the gig economy is just a new way for employers to exploit workers.

As many as 56% of men and 63% of women said a stable income and benefits are some of the most important aspects of being in work.

While most respondents to the survey were confident they would never find themselves forced to work in the gig economy, some experts disagree.

John Marshall, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Lippincott, earlier this year told AOL that, unstopped, the gig economy will take over.

"[Big businesses will] desegregate, so they don't need employees, they can just have people log onto platforms and do tasks for them. People won't work for one employer, they will work in six different places, and just do the things that add the most value," he warned the news outlet.

The Institute of Employment Rights argues that the government has a duty to strengthen regulation to prevent a future in which workers are widely exploited in this manner.

In our Manifesto for Labour Law – 25 recommendations for reform, the principles of which have been adopted by the Labour Party – we propose that a universal definition of "worker" is introduced for all people in employment providing them with the full suite of workers' rights from day one, thereby preventing a race to the bottom through using employment statuses that offer fewer rights.

We also argue that sectoral collective bargaining should be promoted across the economy to allow workers' representatives to negotiate with employers' associations in order to agree a fair minimum pay and conditions under which individual enterprises cannot fall.

Click here to read more about our Manifesto for Labour Law and purchase your copy