Skip to main content
Helping your business to Start, Grow and Develop.

Search

For a successful business, you need a viable business idea, the skills to make it work and the funding. Discover whether your idea has what it takes.

Forming your business correctly is essential to ensure you are protected and you comply with the rules. Learn how to set up your business.

Advice on protecting your wellbeing, self-confidence and mental health from the pressures of starting and running a business.

Learn why business planning is an essential exercise if your business is to start and grow successfully, attract funding or target new markets.

It is likely you will need funding to start your business unless you have your own money. Discover some of the main sources of start up funding.

Businesses and individuals must account for and pay various taxes. Understand your tax obligations and how to file, account and pay any taxes you owe.

Businesses are required to comply with a wide range of business laws. We introduce the main rules and regulations you must comply with.

Marketing matters. It drives sales and helps promote your brand and products. Discover how to market your business and reach your target customers.

Some businesses need a high street location whilst others can be run from home. Understand the key factors from cost to location, size to security.

Your employees can your biggest asset. They can also be your biggest challenge. We explain how to recruitment and manage staff successfully.

It is likely your business could not function without some form of IT. Learn how to specify, buy, maintain and secure your business IT.

Few businesses manage the leap from start up to high-growth business. Learn what it takes to scale up and take your business to the next level.

One in five freelancers could quit self-employment

10 November 2020

After two decades of growth in UK self-employment, a new study by the London School of Economics has found that one in five freelancers consider it likely that they'll leave self-employment as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

The research, undertaken by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics (LSE), found that the easing of pandemic restrictions over the summer only had a marginal effect on the self-employed, with 58% saying they had less work than usual in August 2020.

The LSE report - COVID-19 and the Self-Employed: Six Months into the Crisis - has found that even after England's first lockdown lifted, 32% of self-employed workers had fewer than 10 hours of work a week in August.

Self-employed workers who operate through digital apps in the gig economy have had more work, according to the LSE report. However, 78% of these workers - including parcel delivery workers and private hire drivers - said they felt their health was at risk while working.

Other key findings include:

  • 28% of respondents had applied for a second grant under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS);
  • Of those who had not applied for either the first or second rounds of the SEISS grant, 38% were not sure of their eligibility;
  • A third of respondents think normal activity will not resume until after February 2021;
  • One in ten think it will never resume.

Of most concern is that 20% of freelancers polled said they "consider it likely" that they'll leave self-employment as a result of the crisis - this rises to 59% among those aged under 25. The newly self-employed are more than twice as likely to report having trouble with basic expenses when compared to other self-employed workers (52% versus 24%).

Stephen Machin, co-author and CEP director, said: "While the growth in self-employment has been one of the key trends in the labour market in the past two decades, there are now early signals that this trend could be set to reverse.

"By the summer, there had already been a sharp fall in the number of self-employed workers - this may be primarily due to the lockdown, but for some it will be due to realising the risks of self-employment. The COVID-19 crisis has vividly illustrated the social insurance available to different types of workers, with many experiencing the basic safety net of Universal Credit for the first time."

According to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), "glaring gaps in support" are leading to "long-term, avoidable decline" in the self-employment sector.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the number of self-employed workers in the UK has already fallen to 4.53 million, down from 5.1 million at the end of 2019.

Derek Cribb, IPSE ceo, said: "After the 2008 financial crisis, it was rising self-employed numbers that kept unemployment comparatively low - as uncertain employers looked for more flexible expertise instead of permanent employees. Now, this does not appear to be happening and the self-employed sector is in precipitous decline. Some self-employed are finding their way into full-time roles, but many others are joining the record flow into unemployment.

"Government must work quickly to stem this flow by urgently getting support to the left-behind self-employed groups. Extending support would be a cost now, yes, but it would be a temporary cost during the pandemic, to hold back an even worse unemployment problem later."

Written by Rachel Miller.

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

Sign up to this lively and colourful newsletter for new and more established small businesses.