Employee Benefits poll: More than a quarter (26%) of employer respondents believe the dependent contractor status proposed in the Taylor Review will bring greater clarity.
A poll of www.employeebenefits.co.uk readers, which received 23 responses, found that 22% of respondents feel the new term will cause confusion.
The Taylor review of modern working practices, published in July 2017, was commissioned by the government and led by Matthew Taylor (pictured), chief executive officer at the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA).
The review set out to explore whether current working practices and policies are fit for purpose for today's workforce. This includes the challenges posed by more casual working models, such as the gig economy, which has been the subject of several high-profile legal cases around employment status and employment rights like holiday pay and the minimum wage.
The report recommends maintaining the three tier employment status system, which currently includes employees, workers, and self-employed individuals. However, it suggests a new definition for workers: dependent contractors. This term would aim to remove ambiguity around individuals who are not employees but who are entitled to workers' rights, facilitating greater support for individuals who are not genuinely self-employed.
The Taylor Review also proposes a greater focus on the principle of control when determining dependent contractor status, rather than focusing on whether there is a requirement to perform work personally.
The straw poll of Employee Benefits readers found that 22% of respondents believe the dependent contractor status would increase costs for organisations, and 13% feel it would result in better benefits for gig economy workers.
Read more:
Taylor review proposes dependent contractor status
Kate Hurn: Taylor Review advocates enhancing rights for dependent contractors
Amanda Steadman: How would the Taylor Review proposals affect employers?
