Posts tagged freelance economy

More than 6 million UK adults are already self-employed or working as a contractor, with 6% of full-time professionals looking to make the transition this year.

New research shows European employers want increasingly flexible professional support – fuelling a booming professional “gig economy” already worth over 40 billion in the UK.

This week marks the most stressful week of the year for the UK’s freelancers, according to a study by invoice finance experts Access Commercial Finance.

New research from Zurich UK finds that one in three gig workers hold at least two jobs, while one in 14 hold three or more. One in ten, meanwhile, undertake seasonal work / employment during the holidays. Flexibility and choice of opportunities tops the list of benefits workers say gig work provides.

They call it the gig economy and it’s becoming increasingly commonplace; but what exactly is the gig economy? It’s an environment where temporary positions are common and organisations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. ReportLinker decided to examine this shift and what it means for freelancers in the US.

European employees appear ready to embrace the gig economy, according to research by ADP, a global provider of Human Capital Management solutions. 2 in 3 European employees are interested in self-employment or freelancing. 33% of UK employees say work-life balance is a key motivating factor. Pay is still the ultimate driver for European employees.

According to new research from Approve.io, a rapid approvals tool, the average creative freelancer spends the equivalent of 32 days per year carrying out non-billable work for clients, meaning they don’t start earning money until the middle of February.

Professional contractors need to be differentiated from broader gig economy. Employment Status should not be driven by tax law.

Where once a graduate’s career path appeared linear, in 2017 this is not the case, with university students encountering a ‘catch 22’ when choosing their degree subjects and future job opportunities. According to Jonathan Richmond, Managing Director of Breve Encounter, qualified students must take the future in their own hands to secure their dream job.

According to insight from global talent acquisition and management firm, Alexander Mann Solutions, freelancers will perform an inherently fundamental role in the future workplace as greater numbers of millennials continue to enter the workforce. However, few firms are equipped to attract and manage such a workforce, they reveal.

​The combination of ‘New Year, New Me’ and Blue Monday, (which fell this year on 16th January and is regarded as the most depressing day of the year) means working Brits are getting itchy feet at work and considering setting up shop themselves.

Organisational psychologist and occupational health expert Professor Sir Cary Cooper CBE believes the gig economy is breeding a “sense of entitlement” among businesses, as a new study reveals half (49%) of UK freelancers have suffered from work-related anxiety in the past 12 months and 70% have been approached about working for free.

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies responds to the news that Uber drivers have won the right to be classed as workers rather than self-employed.

Gloria Lombardi discusses the freelance marketplace with Joseph Liu, a career change strategist and the host of the Career Relaunch Podcast. In this interview, Liu shares his views on new ways of working, the emergence of new team structures, and the impact of freelancing on relationship management.

New poll shows almost a third of micro-business owners work longer than the UK maximum of 48 hours per week. Nearly half (44%) haven’t felt able to take a week’s holiday in the past six months. But 74% still think they have a good work-life balance.

The new tax year, starting on 6 April, will see record numbers of self-employed workers, according to new data published by Co-operatives UK, a body that supports freelancers coming together for shared services.