Modern Work

modern work

Freelancers / Contractors / Independent Professionals / Self-Employed

ISSUE 1 £3.95

A CAREER IN FOCUS Tom Oxley discusses his latest photography project

WHO LET THE DOGS IN? The co-working space where all pets are welcomed

I’LL MAKE THEM PAY

Small business commissioner Paul Uppal on how he’ll combat late payment February 2018

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modern work

Contents INTERVIEW Tom Oxley

07

RESEARCH Vulnerable self-employed

10

NEWS The downfall of Carillion

12

BUSINESS AND FINANCE Changing world of e-commerce

15

BUSINESS AND FINANCE Freelancers’ confidence plummets amid Brexit fears

16

INTERVIEW Small business commisioner

19

FROM THE LOBBY New year, new government?

23

LIFESTYLE The pet-friendly co-working space

26

LIFESTYLE 12 gadgets every freelancer needs

28

LIFESTYLE The freelancer’s guide to Sheffield BUSINESS AND FINANCE Top tips on meeting tight deadlines

32

BUSINESS AND FINANCE Ask our experts

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34

EVENTS The events that could benefit yout

38

Barney the cocker-spaniel, working hard with Tom Hayward at this Bloomsbury co-working space

The new magazine for freelancers and the self-employed A word from the editor

Modern Work is the brand-new IPSE Magazine. Over the last year the editorial team has been working hard to redesign and update the magazine to ensure it remains relevant to our audience of freelancers, contractors and the self-employed.

Special thanks goes to our designer Martin Harling-Coward and media consultant Jim Cassidy for their contributions towards the rebranding. And to James Gribben, former editor, for leading the

February 2018

whole process.

Our very first edition of this magazine includes an interview with music photographer Tom Oxley, who discusses the challenges of being a freelancer and his next project.

We also have a Q&A with the new small business commissioner Paul Uppal, a review of a pet-friendly co-working space, and an analysis on what the downfall of Carillion has meant for the self-employed sector. And new to our magazine is a clinic, where we

ask the experts your questions. Send in your thoughts and questions to editor@ modernworkmag. co.uk Enjoy the read.

Jyoti Rambhai EDITOR

3

Your monthly

EDITOR

Jyoti Rambhai

jyoti.rambhai@ipse.co.uk MEDIA CONSULTANT Jim Cassidy

DESIGN

Martin Harling-Coward

REPORTERS

Tristan Grove Tom Hayward Tom Purvis Jonathan Lima-Matthews

CONTRIBUTORS Mantas Tumosa Gemma Church Jason Ward

SPECIAL THANKS James Gribben

COLDPLAY SINGER CALLS FOR FREELANCE PRODUCERS AND ROADIES TO HAVE EXTENDED PARENTAL LEAVE Lead singer of a British pop band is calling for shared parental pay benefits to be extended to self-employed producers and crew member.

Chris Martin is backing the campaign and said most of their crew are freelancers, many with specialist skills such as lighting, sound engineering, instrument technicians and more.

Currently, maternity allowance for the self-employed places the burden of childcare on the mother.

Martin told the i: “So many of our crew, both in the studio and on the road are freelance, and we don’t want to lose half of that talent when they become parents. We want them to be able to share their parenting in a way that works for them, and isn’t dictated by being a man or a woman.”

ADVERTISING

marketing@ipse.co.uk

IPSE, Heron House, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0DX

4

Freelancing platform Upwork released a list of top paying freelance gigs to the website MONEY. Top of the pile was Network analysis, which can net as much as $200 (£140) per hour.

The list was dominated by IT specialisms with Computer vision ($145), Chef.io ($140). Neural networks ($140) and Firmware engineering ($130) rounding out the top five ARE BRITISH WORKERS THRIVING, STRIVING, OR JUST ABOUT SURVIVING? A new report from the RSA looked at how workers are faring both in terms of their experiences of economic security and the quality of work in the UK. The self employed were found to be highly represented in two of the seven groups identified by the report.

The top earning ‘high flyer’ group was 39 per cent self-employed while around a third of those in the flexi workers’ group are in business for themselves..

WESTMINSTER TALKS SELF-EMPLOYMENT

PUBLISHED BY

Modern work or IPSE does not necessarily agree with, nor guarantee the accuracy of statements made by contributors or accept any responsibility for any statements, which are expressed in the publication. All rights reserved. This publication (and any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print, electronic form, or in any other format without the prior written permission of IPSE. IPSE, its directors and employees have no contractual liability to any reader in respect of goods or services provided by a third party supplier.

IT PROFESSIONALS TOP EARNING FREELANCERS

Coldplay’s Chris Martin

On 25 April, IPSE will hold a major policy conference in the heart of Westminster.

The day will bring together some of the nation’s most dynamic, resourceful and creative entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals, alongside leading policy-makers, business figures and the media, to debate the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing our labour market.

Hosted by broadcaster Kathy Newman, the conference programme will explore a range of key issues to do with the rise of self-employment, such as: •Ways to improve the security of self-employment, including the issue of pensions and lifetime savings; •The opportunities self-employment opens for older workers, parents, the disabled and other groups seeking flexible working structures; •How technology is shaping people’s working lives; and •Preparing the labour market for the rise of automation.

Details: ipse.co.uk/events

modern work

briefing

Around

4.8

million SELF-EMPLOYED? GET READY FOR THE 13-MONTH WORKING YEAR

THE CHILD-FRIENDLY, FLEXIBLE WORKING ROADSHOW FOR MUMS

New research shows the self-employed work an extra 14 hours per week compared to employed workers – adding up to an extra month a year.

One in seven Brits work an additional month every year, according to new research. The survey of 1,000 self-employed workers revealed that those going solo work an additional 14 hours per week, compared to permanent roles.

The survey, commissioned by online accounting firm Crunch as part of its Safety in Numbers Report, also revealed that January is the most stressful time of the year for a third (31%) of self-employed workers – a new phenomenon dubbed Jan-xiety.

The Mums Enterprise Roadshow will be hosting its exihibition for mothers looking to get back into work.

The child-friendly flexible work and business show, founded and organised by mums, is aimed at helping attendees looking to retrain, find work, or start and grow a buisness.

Due to the rapidly rising demand, this year, there will be two events - one in Manchester and the other in London. The event is free to attend.

Founder and CEO Lindsey Fish said: “Mums Enterprise Roadshow was born out of my own experiences of being unable to return to my city career after my maternity leave back in 2014.

“Our mission is to help change the work and business lives of mums for the better, forever and we can’t wait to welcome everybody to our exciting events in 2018.

We will be showcasing amazing initiatives, individuals and organisations, it’s these partners and exhibitors who really change lives and many can’t be found at any other event.”

FREELANCE PERFORMER GOES VIRAL AFTER APPEARING IN TRIVAGO AD

©Youtube: Trivago

Trivago girl, Gabrielle Miller has become an internet sensation after appearing in what critics described as a mundane television advert.

The Australian freelance actress, who lives in Berlin, started gaining attention last year. She told the Guardian: “I have no idea why, or how, or anything. I get a lot of emails, some good, a lot from mothers that say things like ‘my two-yearold stops crying whenever you come on television’, which is nice.”

The popularity of the advert, Miller admits has contributed towards her much happier work life balance.

February 2018

Manchester: Wedenesday, 20 June at Event City, in Trafford City London: Friday, 28 to Saturday. 29 September at Olympia London.

Details: mumsenterprise.events

people are currently selfemployed in the UK

Freelancers were working to

78%

capacity in Q4 of 2017

Freelancers take

1/3

less time off from work compared to employees 5

Work for yourself.

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modern work

Roll with it: focus on the high notes Tom Oxley discusses the challenges of being a self-employed photographer in the music industry

By Jyoti Rambhai

W

Tom Oxley studio session

February 2018

hen Tom Oxley tried to sneak out of a party whilst touring with one of Britain’s most iconic rock bands, he was told to “get back in there and get f****** drinking”.

Hanging out with Oasis’ Liam Gallagher as he toured around Asia, going to parties and being part of that boozy rock’n’roll culture, may seem like fun, but for Tom it was part of his job.

He was hired to photograph everything on tour.

The 37-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent has worked a lot with Gallagher over the years and says “it is very much as you would imagine”.

“Everyone thinks they have lived a little bit, but when you hang around with Liam, he’ll tell a story and they’re outrageous and you’ll think you haven’t lived at all.”

Gallagher is not the only famous musician he has photographed or toured with. In fact, Tom has built his career around photographing professional artists and has worked with Adele, Amy Winehouse, Florence and the Machines, Rihanna, Pete Doherty, ASAP Mob and many more.

But now, after 15 years of photographing and touring with chart topping artists, Tom is embarking on a personal project – digital portraits.

“Digital portraits,” he explains, “is where I film whoever I am shooting, how I see fit to photograph, for two to three minutes. This is then projected on to 20 feet high canvases. There are lots projections in one room and they all interact with each other.”

Tom did his very first digital portraits ex7

hibition five years ago at the Londonewcastle project space and was later asked to recreate the show in the main room at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Stoke City fan is the only photographer in the world to have ever had an exhibition in the main room at the world-renowned venue and describes at as a “surreal experience”.

“This first exhibition was all music and included Liam Gallagher, Johnny Marr, Pussycat Dolls Wretch 32 among many others. We will hopefully be taking this one to Manchester, but I am also looking to do another one on nudes and one with photographers.

“The great thing about doing digital portraits,” Tom adds, “is you can essentially fit the entire exhibition on your phone. You still need to spend a lot of money on the actual digital file, but once it has been done that’s it. You can then edit, add or take out portraits.

“It’s the personal work that is interesting me at the moment – it means you can define your own boundaries. Yes, I have had to call in favours everywhere when it comes to getting people to shoot – it tends to be a case of you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”

Being part of the music industry culture and hanging around with bands was always something Tom enjoyed, but he admits he was never quite “musical” enough to become a musician, which is why he turned to photography.

He says: “My dad had an old film camera and I first started playing around with that and really enjoyed it. I still have that very same camera – I’ve kept it safe.

“Before I went to art college in Stoke, I would do shoots at this nightclub, it was called Golden back then, and they used to bring in some of the biggest DJs each week. It was people like Roger Sanchez and Tiesto and it went on from that.”

Since finishing college and moving to London nearly 17 years ago, Tom has been self-employed – even when he was just starting out as an assistant. This is normal for this industry, he tells me.

“Photography is quite a lone wolf game.

When you are doing shoots, you have a lot of backing, but in between, you are on your own.

So you have to learn to deal with that as well as learning to do the business side of things from hiring the right kit to producing the shoots.”

A typical day for Tom on a one-day shoot begins at about 4.30am and includes a grilled

chicken pasta for breakfast.

“It’s similar to footballers,” he adds, “because you may not get the chance to eat for the rest of the day. I’m so mentally prepared for it too, I don’t drink days before a shoot and on the day, I go into auto-pilot mode.

“The first shot, in every shoot always seems to take forever… people arrive, they faff, have coffee, eat a croissant and then you have got to make sure the lighting is right. And then you have another six or seven hours of shooting straight.

“By the time you get home and unpack everything, you’re exhausted. And when you wake up the next day it feels like you have been in a boxing ring; your body is aching. It’s because you contort your body into whatever shape you can in order to get that shot, going up and down ladders or lifting cases.”

For Tom, it is not only about being disciplined when you have a shoot, but also when it comes to organising all your files and paperwork.

He says: “You almost have to be OCD about it. If you think about the number of digital files that are created from just one shoot, it is unbelievable. And then you have your low-res files, retouch notes and your final psds, tiffs and web ready jpegs.

“That is why you need to be organised and with your paperwork… I do it on the day, even if it is just receipts. I also make sure I clean the kit and charge the batteries straight away.

“It sounds really boring and sometimes you think I didn’t get into photography for this, but you’ll reap the benefits from it. You won’t have to worry about this stuff when you get a shoot come in at the last minute. You can just go.”

Being organised is something Tom would say to his 20-year-old self – especially as he spent 18 months working on his digital archive and organising his file, which he proudly says is now “immaculate”.

So, what other advice would he offer someone starting out as a photographer?

“Managing your cash flow when you first start out can be a challenge, as often, clients don’t pay you until three or four months after.

And it is not unheard of to go up to six or nine months without being paid for a job.

“It is outrageous, but that is the business and people get away with it. It’s really vicious.”

Late payment is not just an issue in the music industry, but is something that is a huge concern for self-employed people across all sectors.

And when you are starting out, there is often also

“Photography is quite a lone wolf game.”

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Ariana from Tom Oxley’s Moving Portraits

modern work

an anxiety around maintaining a good relationship with clients.

The best way to deal with this, Tom suggests, is simply by politely telling clients they are late. He says: “If it’s a repeat client, then please let them know they’re late, if it is a new client and you want to work again, then perhaps be very polite about it in any future emails.

“It is actually illegal to not be paid after a set amount of time, but it is almost impossible to enforce this. And the other thing is, hold your nerve with your fees, because people are fighting their way down to the bottom at the moment.

“People are undercutting each other so badly and the impact of you cutting your fee is you’ve knocked it down for everyone else.

Clients then think the job can be done for that amount when it can’t.

“If they don’t want to pay, look somewhere else. There is always going to be people who are willing to pay what you are worth. It’s hard when you are just starting out, because you need the money for rent and food, but hold your nerve.”

Tom finishes by adding: “Do not give your copyright away. It’s like buying a pair of Levi jeans, you don’t then get shares in the company.

“I always say I will give you a premium product, work my heart out for you and even sign a contract saying what can and can’t go out, but the copyright will always remain mine.”

Details: tomoxley.com

February 2018

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The other side of the story 184891

Exploring the UK’s vulnerable self-employed

F

By Jonathan Lima-Matthews

or most self-employed people, the switch to working for themselves was one of the best career moves they ever made. It allowed them to choose who they work with, and when they work.

For many, it’s the perfect way to manage parenting responsibilities and make their work fit around their life rather than vice versa. And, because working for yourself allows you to book long periods of time off, you can effectively – in one self-employed person’s words – take a series of “mini retirements”.

Who wouldn’t want that?

In fact, according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 84 per cent of self-employed people said their lives were better overall than if they were in employment. And in a survey by IPSE last year, 64 per

10

cent said they would continue working for themselves for the foreseeable future.

But while it was a positive choice for most, there are some people out there for whom self-employment led to a much less happy lifestyle: the vulnerable self-employed – often working in the so-called ‘gig economy’.

A new report by IPSE and Community trade union has determined why this group is considered vulnerable.

Looking across the self-employed sector, the study distinguished three main factors determining vulnerability: low pay, lack of autonomy, and financial insecurity.

If a self-employed person showed two or three of these signs, the report concluded they were at risk of being ‘vulnerable’. (The report used the term ‘at risk’ because the numbers do not guarantee a person is vulnerable: they do not account for individual circumstances, for exam-

ple, a financially supportive partner.)

Other organisations – such as the Trades Union Congress (TUC) – have already tried to ascertain how many people are in vulnerable self-employment across the UK. In their report, however, the TUC only considered low pay.

As a result, the TUC reported a total of 1.3 million people in vulnerable self-employment. By contrast, IPSE and Community found between 300,000 and 500,000 (9-13%) of the self-employed population were at risk of being vulnerable, which suggests a less serious, systemic problem.

Although the report produced a lower figure than the TUC’s, it still showed that there are many self-employed people who are at risk of being vulnerable.

IPSE and Community’s study also showed that there are a range of occupations where people are significantly more likely to be vulneramodern work

and training at IPSE, said: “If this problem persists we will be heading towards a pensions crisis for the self-employed.

“The government is working hard to resolve this after its automatic enrolment review last December, and providers are warming to the idea of offering the self-employed the flexible pensions they need. But progress needs to be much faster.

“The government pension provider NEST is trialling a rainy-day pension scheme known as the ‘sidecar’, which IPSE will follow with interest over the next two years. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, this may be a significant help for the vulnerable self-employed.”

Of the six professions least likely to save for a pension, five have a high proportion at risk of vulnerability

carers

“Between 300,000 and 500,000 self-employed are at risk of being vulnerable.”

ble. These included carers, car mechanics, child minders, cleaners and drivers.

Another of the key findings was that there is a major gap in educational attainment between the vulnerable self-employed and others.

In fact, the figures revealed that 11 per cent of the vulnerable self-employed have no qualifications at all. Furthermore, only one in five have a degree-level qualification, compared to one in three employees.

But it isn’t just limited education that sets the vulnerable self-employed apart. Low pay and financial insecurity mean that many also struggle to pay into a pension.

Although this is a widespread problem across the self-employed sector ( just 17 per cent of the entire group are paying into a pension), it is a particular problem for those in vulnerable self-employment.

Suneeta Johal, head of research, education

February 2018

But what else can be done to improve matters? The report put forward a range of recommendations to ensure fewer people find themselves at risk of vulnerable self-employment.

It called for changes to the monthly Universal Credit (UC) Minimum Income Floor system, which currently penalises the self-employed by failing to take account their fluctuating incomes.

To make it more accessible to them, the report recommended that the Minimum Income Floor should be calculated annually instead of monthly.

It also recommended extending the yearlong start-up period to two years to account for the length of time it often takes self-employed people to make their businesses profitable.

The report suggested that one of the best ways to help the vulnerable self-employed improve their situation was through training opportunities. Based on this, it called on the government to develop a set of criteria for certifying online courses, thus encouraging more providers to step in and offer training opportunities that could make a genuine difference.

Finally, IPSE and Community also called for greater protections against clients who pay either late or not at all.

Johal added: “Although self-employment is a rewarding choice for most people, there’s no doubt it can be a tough gig for some.

“Hopefully this report will push the government to give people in this group the support they need.”

car mechanics

childminders

cleaners

drivers 11

Carillion: the bigger they are the harder they fall 10 July

By Tom Purvis Economic correspondent

C

arillion’s spectacular collapse mimicked the fate of the banks back in 2008, sending out shockwaves that are affecting many self-employed people. Just like the banks, the construction services company and government contractor suffered its own credit crunch when money it owed had to be written off.

So, how did the construction giant come to this, and how is it affecting the self-employed?

The construction industry is a major player in the UK economy, contributing 6.7 per cent of GDP annually. And it’s not just the economy: it’s also vital to the government’s commitment to improving productivity and helping more people get on the housing ladder.

Low interest rates have led to an exponential rise in house prices over the last two decades. As a result, home ownership is a major issue for voters under the age of 40, so if the government wants to survive it must do something about the problem.

To build the houses necessary to deal with the crisis, there will need to be a collaborative public and private sector effort. And it’s not just the government that is relying on the construction industry right now. It is also the main source of work for numerous self-employed people. In fact, of the UK’s 4.8 million-strong self-employed population, 800,000 work in the construction industry.

Carillion was the second largest construction company in the UK, and its fall has sent shockwaves across the industry and the country.

It has also raised questions not only about Carillion’s directors and corporate responsibility, but also about all public sector procurement.

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of all this was that towards the end of last year, even after a 12

Government awards a £1.4 billion contract to a Carillion-led consortium to build the HS2 rail link.

29 September

Carillion issues a third profit warning and is expected to breach the covenants set by its lenders. The firm fails to sell £300 million of non-core assets..

6 January 2018 Carillion, the government and the banks hold meetings to discuss the plugging of a £300 million cash shortfall.

15 January

Timeline Carillion’s problems go back further than the last-ditch talks in January.

The seeds of its collapse were planted way back in 2017.

Chief executive Richard Howson quits as Carillion issues a profit warning and writes down contracts worth £845 million. Ernst and Young and HSBC hired as advisors to try and turn the firm around.

17 July Carillion issues a second profit warning. This is after another contract review audit, and leads to a further £200 million of write-downs. Halfyear losses top £1.2 billion and Carillion asks its lenders for £140 million of emergency funding.

17 November

Carillion reveals it needs an emergency meeting with its banks.

13-14 January

Carillion goes into liquidation and PricewaterhouseCoopers are appointed as the official receiver.

modern work

string of profit warnings, the government continued to award them contracts. So, when the firm collapsed, it quickly placed a lot of pressure on the government’s procurement processes.

The point of using a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is to shift the risk from the government to the private sector. However, by ignoring Carillion’s profit warnings, the government brought the risk – now magnified – back on itself. It would have been sensible for the government to implement contingency plans for the collapse of Carillion – and to shift contracts to other, more stable firms. Instead, by continuing to award contracts to the failing Carillion, the government brought a crisis on itself and much of the public sector.

In terms of Carillion itself, in the midst of a truly disastrous collapse, there were at least some shreds of hope. Although there was a major shortfall in the company’s pension pot, through the Pension Protection Fund – a de facto insurance scheme for when companies collapse – people who have already retired from the firm still have full access to their savings.

Unfortunately, however, people who haven’t yet retired will see their pension pots hit by between 10 and 20 per cent. And the picture looks even bleaker for self-employed people engaged by Carillion, because they will have no access to any of the firm’s benefit schemes.

Worse, self-employed people and other Carillion suppliers may not now be paid for their work at all. Carillion spent £952 million on local suppliers in 2016 – spread across around 30,000 different companies. Many of these suppliers now face the harsh reality that much of their work may go unpaid: banks will be much higher up Carillion’s list of creditors.

A large proportion of these small businesses have already been hit hard by Carillion’s payment terms, which were extended from 90 to 120 days in 2013. For some investors, this move was even an early warning sign about underlying problems.

One of the businesses hit by Carillion’s defaulting was Flora-tec. They performed landscaping services for Carillion worth £800,000.

Unfortunately, however, the company was quite far down Carillion’s list of creditors and has had to make 10 people redundant as a direct result the payment shortfall. Just one of the many reverberations of Carillion’s monumental demise.

The hope is that the collapse will not affect all of Carillion’s suppliers quite as badly. As PwC February 2018

continues with the liquidation process, they may be able to ensure that at least some of the money gained from selling off Carillion’s assets reaches the firm’s smaller suppliers. Unfortunately, this process is unlikely to move quickly, so in the meantime small businesses will need to plan as if they will receive nothing.

As for the wider implications of the collapse, the Prime Minister has already signalled that some major changes to corporate governance may be coming down the legislative pipeline. In no small part because of the enormous £900 million pension deficit left by the fallen giant, which will be picked up by the Pension Protection Fund.

To try and prevent anything like this happening again, new rules will be announced in March which will penalise executives who leave behind a pension deficit when their company collapses.

The construction industry – and in particular other private sector providers – are already taking note. With other government providers like Serco and Interserve showing signs of trouble, there may be major regulatory changes on the way.

Whether we are seeing the beginning of the end of PFI or just a shifting corporate culture, the Prime Minister and the government are now under pressure to make some serious changes to protect workers, taxpayers and the self-employed.

A CONTRACTOR’S VIEW One contractor affected by Carillion’s demise was engaged on a project through the agency Carillion Rail Resources, then paid by the umbrella company Crest Plus Operations Ltd. They charged him a weekly administration fee for each payment.

“We were effectively Carillion employees without the rights of someone employed by Carillion,” he told the Daily Record.

“We wore Carillion clothes, did the same work – everything was the same apart from our pay packets and our workers’ rights. Crest took £17 off you to process your wages and sometimes it could be £25 depending on how much you earn.

“When we had a meeting with Crest, they told us they were responsible for paying 10,000 workers. So, imagine how much they are coining in charging guys a minimum of £17 every week.”

Because deductions were made to cover the employers’ national insurance, “Carillion dodged paying the national insurance they would have to pay if they employed me direct,” he continued.

“It’s a scam and pretty galling that they were effectively shafting the taxpayer while being paid fortunes to do public sector contracts.”

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modern work

Shoppers and workers of the world go digital Tom Purvis on how online platforms have created new opportunities for the self-employed

O

nline platforms have changed the way we shop and work. Digital platforms are creating self-employment opportunities for many, and it is time the government took note and supported them.

Self-employment has been growing substantially in the last few years and is now changing the face of the UK labour market. There are currently 4.8 million self-employe prople in the country, and it is expected there will soon be more people working for themselves than working in the entire public sector.

Why? Because people want flexibility in their work, and e-commerce provides it.

Platforms like Etsy and Shopify have changed the way we shop and work by providing a clear and simple way to become your own boss.

E-commerce has grown sharply in the last few years. In the UK, sales rose from £503 billion to £511 billion between 2015 and 2016 alone. And this only is expected to continue as more and more people move off the high street and into the online world.

What we are seeing is a clear shift towards the online world and self-employment. That is why it is so important for the government to work to create a supportive business environment for the self-employed.

According to research by IPSE, there has been an increase of 46.5 per cent in freelancers over 50. Currently, 72 per cent of all self-employed people are aged 50 or above. Typically, it is also the over-50s who vote in the greatest numbers, so supporting the self-employed makes sound electoral sense too.

There has been a particular increase in the number of women going self-employed. In fact,

February 2018

the number of self-employed women has grown by a staggering 75 per cent in the last 15 years.

One of the key reasons for this is that more and more new and expecting mothers are using the flexibility of self-employment to stay part of the workforce and keep earning money. Self-employment is the perfect way for people to fit work

around other commitments in their lives.

People with disabilities are also benefiting greatly from the flexibility of self-employment.

Of the 4.8 million self-employed people in the UK, 750,000 have a disability. And, according to the Resolution Foundation, people with disabilities make up a greater proportion of the self-employed than of the employed population.

Through platforms such as Etsy and Shopify, as well as specially designed disability support software, disabled people can now work how they like. They are able to flourish in self-employment

– for the most part free from concerns about additional requirements and discrimination.

The important thing now is to support the increasing numbers of people who are turning to digital work. And, for people trying to work through platforms like Etsy and Shopify, broadband is currently one of the biggest barriers.

Right now, only 5.8 per cent of businesses with fewer than 10 employees have access to superfast broadband.

And since most Etsy and Shopify start-ups have under 10 employees, this should be an urgent priority for the government.

And in terms of the countryside, the government’s £600 million deal with Openreach to deliver superfast broadband to rural areas will be vital if the many self-employed people in these regions are to flourish. Rural areas generally have worse infrastructure than the rest of the country, and with construction figures showing that infrastructure output is down, this deal is now more important than ever for rural self-employment.

There has been some debate about the different levels of tax for online stores and stores with traditional shopfronts. It would be a great shame if online businesses were held back by higher taxes because of the elevated taxes on high street shops. Instead of raising taxes for digital stores, the government should look at ways of bringing them down for brick and mortar shops.

More could also be done to support newly self-employed people by improving Universal Credit. Under the current system,

15

after the first 12 months, self-employed people are expected to earn an average of £1,047 a month according to the current Minimum Income Floor.

Actually, however, in their second year of self-employment, people earn an average of just £665 a month.

In their early stages of development, businesses should be encouraged to invest in new machinery and marketing material to help them continue to grow. They should not have to – as now – spend time and money on monthly accounting and deferring investment to show that they made a profit of £1,047 in any given month.

Cash flow can often be a problem for people starting out in self-employment. In fact, of the £511 billion of e-commerce sales, £274 billion were business-to-business – and this may have contributed to the cash flow problems faced by many early-career self-employed people.

Payment terms often favour larger business over the self-employed people they engage. Small and one-person companies regularly suffer as a result – like when Marks and Spencer changed its payment terms to 75 days for some suppliers.

E-commerce has grown exponentially in the last few years, and this is only expected to continue. Today, digital working is giving people many new opportunities to make money, but there are still major barriers that need to be addressed.

With more people than ever before taking up opportunities in self-employment, there has never been a better time to support and celebrate our flexible labour market.

Brexit and low pay behind declining confidence BREXIT and an alarming drop in income have led to a sharp fall in freelancers’ confidence in the UK economy, according to new research by IPSE and PeoplePerHour (PPH) - an online marketplace for freelancers to get work.

Although the economic confidence of the UK’s two million freelancers improved marginally in the last quarter – after record-low levels in Q2 – it has now fallen again because of Brexit and a 17 per cent decline in both quarterly earnings and daily rates. The study suggests this is expected to be exacerbated by an increase in their business costs in 2018.

These significant decreases are compounded further by a drop – to the lowest levels on re-

16

cord – in the amount of time freelancers spent working during each quarter.

The research also highlighted that freelancers’ confidence in the wider UK economy continues to fall and now stands at the second lowest level on record, with 70 per cent saying they are less optimistic about the performance of the UK economy over the next 12 months.

Professor Andrew Burke, dean of Trinity Business School, Dublin, said: “The freelancers who completed this survey are professional, highly skilled, and involved in projects which drive growth and innovation. As a result, they are very well placed to foresee economic and business trends. Their consistent lack of confidence is therefore deeply concerning.

“Freelancers are particularly concerned this quarter because they experienced their second successive reduction in earnings – after a 13 per cent drop in Q3. They see the government’s policies on Brexit, taxation and the regulation of freelance work as the main factors that have had a detrimental effect on the freelance sector.”

Suneeta Johal, head of research, education and training at IPSE, added: “Brexit has consistently been cited as a significant factor behind freelancers’ lack of confidence.

“But with inflation rising over the quarter it is unsurprising that freelancers also stated that they expect their business costs to rise. Ultimately, this means that freelancers expect their finances to feel squeezed throughout 2018.”

modern work

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Offer limited to customers who are not, and have not in the last three months, been a member of any AXA PPP healthcare Limited individual or corporate plan or policy, or a member of a trust scheme administered by AXA PPP healthcare Administration Services Limited or AXA PPP Administration Services Limited. Offer is non-transferable with no cash alternative. If paying annually, you will only be charged for 10 months of cover. If you pay monthly, the last two months of cover will be free. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, apart from our 5% discount for paying annually.

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February 2018 AXA PPP Healthcare Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered17in England number 3148119. Registered office: AXA PPP healthcare, 5 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1AD.

18

modern work

QA &

Small business commissioner Calling time on late payment

By Jyoti Rambhai

S

mall businesses often get hit the worst when it comes to late payments or even non-payments, and this can sometimes lead to their companies going under. In a bid to combat this widespread issue and be a voice for the self-employed, in 2015 IPSE suggested to the government to bring in a new role – a small business commissioner.

The then Conservative government pledged to bring in this new role and now, almost two and a half years later, Paul Uppal (pictured), former MP for Wolverhampton South West, has been appointed as the small business commissioner. Modern Work spoke to the 50-yearold father of three, to find out what he plans to do.

What made you think you could be the UK’s first small business commissioner?

When I saw the position advertised, I was immediately attracted to it, because I come from a small business background myself and the issue surrounding late payment is an area that certainly needs to be addressed. We have a cultural practice in the UK of late payment and I want to be part of a process which can change that. It was also a position that allowed me to marry my small business and political background.

Can you tell us about your background as a small businessman?

It’s in construction and real estate, although as I have got older it has become

February 2018

less construction and more real estate. In the early wild days, if you like, I was a contractor and would direct builds ourselves, predominantly for industrial units, but some residential.

On the business side of things, it was a pretty lonely and interesting experience. It taught me a great deal about financing, developing long-standing, trusting business relationships.

Although I was born in Smethwick, Birmingham, I have an East African background – my family used to run an electrical business in Kenya and when they came to the UK they started again.

What made you shift from working in construction/real estate to politics?

Politics was always spoken about at the breakfast and dinner table in my family. I studied politics at Warwick University and then just forgot about it.

I asked my uncle once for some advice about getting involved in politics. And he said: ‘Forget about it, go get a real job for a while’. So that’s when I started my own business and did a ‘proper job’. I was lucky, I made some money and things fitted nicely into place.

But I have always had a bug about politics.

Then I think I was just fortunate – a seat in Wolverhampton South West was allocated so I pursued it, managed to win it in 2010 and then lose it in 2015.

In both your business and political careers, what has been the biggest challenges you have faced?

In business, in the early days when you are establishing yourself, there are huge challenges and there are risks you have to take, from funding projects to making sure you are paid on time.

I was quite fortunate; I received some good advice from my peer groups and extended family about chasing late payments and it is something I made a priority. I wouldn’t say I had the best

19

‘How would you feel if you business model in the world, but I was very conscious of cash flow and I think I knew this from my other business partners.

They didn’t always want to get involved in the cash flow element and in chasing payments.

People get personally embarrassed by this, but I didn’t have that… well I did when I was very young, but I certainly didn’t afterwards. I became quite good at chasing payments, by basically making myself a nuisance. In the early days, it really was a bit tight and there were some challenges there.

And it is a really steep learning curve – you do go in very green and you learn on the job very sharp. If you don’t, then your business will go under. Of all the things I have done in my life, those early years were particularly tough – they were particularly rewarding too – having been through that and surviving it, I’m quite happy about it.

Who did you turn to for advice?

My father was crucial. I was lucky in that respect… it can be an incredibly lonely experience, so having somebody give you a different perspective can be really useful. And of course, there is no agenda there, they want you to succeed, so I was quite fortunate then.

Championing small businnesses: Paul Uppal (right) sits down with IPSE’s Simon McVicker to talk tactics

Of the disputes self-employed workers have with clients is because of late payment

How did you deal with loneliness when you were self-employed?

Not very well. I’m quite a social person, but you’ve just got to understand that is part of the course. If you want to pursue your own business, you’ve got to accept that is part of your life… and you’ve just got to try and enjoy it.

I actually found that making business contacts and business partners, later on as the business developed, to be quite enjoyable. As you build the business up, those do become personal friendships.

What will be the main purpose of your role as the small business commissioner?

The main purpose of the role is to have an impact on the issue and culture of late payment.

The one thing that I find that really resonates with people when they ask me this question is by saying to them: “At the end of the month, if the firm that paid your wage decided to take a 20 per cent discount – so you only got 80 per cent of your wage – how would you feel about it?”

I then see their eyes light up, because they can actually see how pernicious this can be and how

20

Only a third of those in disputes with their agency were satisfied with how it was resolved

the relationship can be. It’s sometimes bringing things home. Your costs, your overheads are fixed. However, I just think we have a cultural issue here, where sometimes businesses feel they can take advantage of the commercial situation they are in and I want to be part of a process to change that culture.

And more long term, being a champion for small businesses. I know that’s not specifically in the remit advertised, but I think small businesses do need a voice within government. Big businesses can look after themselves, I’ve seen that through my political career.

Organisations like IPSE do a good job and they have a good ear with government, as do var-

modern work

only got 80% of your wage?’ as large businesses and then having meetings where we bring small businesses and large businesses together.

I don’t want to ambush anyone. But this is my job. We would like to do this with the co-operation of businesses. I’m not always sure legislation or being very draconian about it is going to be that helpful. But if we get to a point where we can’t get around and provide some solutions, then that decision-making process may be taken out of our hands.

And if there comes a point where we need to address the issue of more powers, I’m not going to be backwards in coming forwards in that.

ious other stakeholders, but I think it would be good through my role to bring these bodies together and have one single voice and have some basic priorities of what we can achieve, particularly within the Brexit environment that we have got at the moment.

What do you want to achieve with the post?

Prompt payment – at some point we will be issuing a report and I want to feed back into government my initial findings here. So, at the moment, I am in listening mode. It is about having those conversations and opening up the office for people to come and talk to us. Obviously, if they have got issues around late payment, we have got a website, which they can approach us on. We

February 2018

have a procedure on what we can and can’t do.

And we can certainly have conversations too and that’s going to be a big part of the job.

Do you think the role has been give the powers it needs to go out and make a real difference?

We are where we are in the roles that we have, and we have statutory regulations, which is very much about naming and shaming. I have met with Mark Brennan [former Australian small business commissioner] and we talked about his experience in dealing with that and late payment.

Something Mark mentioned to me, and I’m interested to see, is at various points in the year, having meetings with small businesses as well

The smallest businesses often find it the toughest when a client, who may be 90 per cent of their business, decides to change the payment terms from say 60 days to 75 days. How do you make them feel confident in coming forward with these issues without jeopardising their business relationship?

Part of the legislation that has established us is very specific, it’s there in black and white.

We cannot do anything that is going to be detrimental to anybody that approaches us as a small business. There are a couple avenues here: •Anonymity – the actual logistics of this sometimes may mean that even if we don’t name a businesses, it could be quite obvious as soon as we’re speaking on their behalf.

•Then there is a question of looking at other businesses who may be experiencing the same and make it slightly more generic. Here, we can pick up the phone and speak to the firm, asking, ‘Are you aware there is a problem here? – your name keeps cropping up.’

•Balance and fairness – we are there to address the issue, not bang one business over the head or materially damage them. But I am aware for small businesses, one supplier can have a huge influence over your business, so there is a huge amount of frustration there.

What I want to do is to provide a vent for that frustration. You can approach us and ultimately everything we are going to do is with your consent. There may be some small businesses who are more prepared to do this than others. We can go in and vet for you, but we need you to step up to the plate too.

Details: smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk

21

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modern work

From the lobby Justine Greening, education secretary quits

New small business minister, Andrew Griffiths

Chris Grayling was party chairman for 27 seconds

Margot James moves to Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

A tweak is a long time in politics

By Tristan Grove Chief correspondent

Do you remember when Brexit wasn’t even a word, when politics were boring and when Europe was only in our minds when we started to think about holidays?

Today we stroll down the corridors of power, find out who’s in and who’s out.

Wander into Strangers Bar for a swift half pint and listen in to plots and counter plots. We fly the flag for the UKs growing band of self-employed, contractors and freelancers and we make sure their voices are heard loud and clear in the seats of power.

February 2018

N

ew year, same blunders. For Theresa May, January was the month of the reshuffle that wasn’t: or rather, the reshuffle that was supposed to show her strength and control but did little reassert her authority over her party.

The press build-up advertised the reshuffle as a new beginning for a new year. A refreshed Prime Minister would finally be exerting control over her cabinet: the woman who at the start of last year was touted as the ‘only adult in the room’ would finally be in control of the nursery again.

The reality was a little different. Things got off to an inauspicious start when the Conservative Party’s blunder-prone Twitter account accidentally announced that transport secretary Chris Grayling would become the new party chairman. The hapless Grayling was in post a total of 27 seconds...

If anything, it only got worse from there.

Education secretary Justine Greening dramatically quit the government, Jeremy Hunt refused to budge from the Department of Health, and

the day ended with many saying that the most the teetering Prime Minister could manage was adding the word ‘housing’ to Sajid Javid’s title.

But if the reshuffle did little for the government and less for Theresa May, it still had some significant implications for the self-employed. Because, although the main cabinet reshuffle was a damp squib, there were some much more significant changes in the junior minister reshuffle.

Among the biggest was the small business minister Margot James’s move to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The result? A new small business minister for the self-employed: Andrew Griffiths. The MP for Burton may have something of a task on his hands rebuilding the self-employed community’s confidence and trust in the government.

UPPAL AND AT ‘EM It’s all change for the self-employed at the moment: not only is there a new small business minister; the new office of the small business commissioner is also getting off the ground. It’s

23

a post IPSE had been calling for a long time, based on the Australian model, which essentially gave small businesses and the self-employed a government champion.

The UK government adopted the policy in 2015, but it was only in October 2016 that it finally appointed entrepreneur and former MP for Wolverhampton South West Paul Uppal to the post. Now, as of December, Uppal’s office has a new complaint handling service, as well as a website with guidance and advice on self-employed rights and how to deal with poor payment practices.

Now the wheels are turning and the office of the small business commissioner is shifting into gear, it’s up to Uppal to be the champion the self-employed need. For too long, clients’ poor payment practices have been wreaking havoc on the self-employed, with late payment and even failure to pay at all often going unpunished. Now, hopefully, things should start to change.

The so solid crew: Thresea May with new Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis (to her left), deputy chairman James Cleverly (to her right). And vice-chairs (l/r) James Morris, Helen Grant, Marcus Jones, Rehman Chishti, Kemi Badenoch, Chris Skidmore, Maria Caulfield and Ben Bradley.

NOT-SO UNIVERSAL CREDIT If the government is starting to tackle client late payment, it has perhaps been a little more sluggish solving its own late payment problem: with Universal Credit. Since this universally backfiring new benefits system was first introduced by Iain Duncan Smith in 2013, it has caused nothing but problems – particularly for the self-employed.

The idea behind it was to roll six different means-tested benefits into one monthly payment. Surprisingly enough, however, combining Jobseeker’s Allowance,

“The universal credit system has been hard on self-employed people” Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Income Support and income-based Employment and Support Allowance – as well as all the means-testing that goes with them – turned out to be just a little bit of an administrative burden.

The result? Hard-up benefits claimants across the UK found themselves waiting no less than six weeks for their first much-needed payments.

Although chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the Autumn Budget that the waiting time would be slashed from six to five weeks, this is still far too long for vulnerable self-employed people – and indeed for any struggling benefits claimants.

This not-so universal credit system has also been particularly hard for self-employed people because of its burdensome monthly Minimum Income Floor. The Universal Credit payments people receive are based on their income each month, but because this fluctuates for self-employed people, it has to be an estimate – their ‘Minimum Income Floor’.

24

Self-employed people receive up to

£3,000 less UC per year than employees

16% only

of self-employed people pay into a pension

This creates two problems: firstly, it forces a major administrative burden on the self-employed, who have to tally and submit their income every single month. It’s also often inaccurate: in fact, research last year found that self-employed people receive up to £3,000 less per year than employees on the same income.

The government is at last, however, starting to take note of the problems, and has been conducting an inquiry into the rollout of Universal Credit.

In the January hearings, IPSE highlighted some of the challenges for the self-employed and called for an annual – instead of monthly – Minimum Income Floor to make the system fairer.

PENSION PANDEMONIUM For a long time now, self-employed pensions have been the UK economy’s hidden ticking time bomb. Right now, just 16 per cent of self-employed people are paying modern work

Chris Bryce

Chief executive at IPSE

IR35: new year, old struggle

into a pension, and research suggests over a third of freelancers feel they are simply not in a financial position to start saving for later life.

As with Universal Credit, it’s taken the government a while to get its gear in motion on this one. But after it was highlighted in the Taylor Review last year, the wheels of government are finally turning.

It has pledged to explore options for improving pension uptake among the self-employed, and in a report into pension auto-enrolment at the end of last year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) even said it was “looking forward to research in the field from HMRC and the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed.”

2018 may have got off to a rocky start for the Prime Minister, but from Universal Credit to tackling late payments, things are looking up for the self-employed.

February 2018

freelancers lose

£16.5 billion

of income due to late payments

It may be a new year, but we’re still in the middle of a cold, harsh winter – made all the harsher by the crisis in the NHS. Packed emergency wards.

A chronic lack of equipment. And, of course, dire staff shortages.

IPSE warned for a long time of the damage being done by the cack-handed changes to IR35 in the public sector. We’ve seen a mass exodus of contractors from organisations across the public sector, as well as delays to major projects – especially in TfL. The crisis in the NHS is only the latest, most dramatic fallout from the changes.

The changes to IR35 are by no means the only factor behind the catastrophic crisis in the NHS, but there is no doubt they contributed. In a survey last November by ContractorCalculator and the Independent Health Professionals Association, 87 per cent of healthcare locums said the reforms were drastically impeding patient care, and a further 25 per cent said they had left the NHS because of them.

From our transport to our very health, the changes to IR35 are wreaking havoc in the UK. IPSE’s hard work last year stopped the chancellor extending them to the private sector in the Autumn Budget, but there is still a risk.

What the budget did show, however, was the impact that a powerful campaign can have on government. That’s why, to make sure these dangerous changes are not extended to the private sector and take the first steps towards reversing the damage in the public sector, we, the self-employed community, must stand up and make our voices heard.

The self-employed are one of the most productive, dynamic sectors of the labour force, driving some of the country’s most successful industries – from the service sector to the creative professions. It’s time the government stopped hammering the self-employed community with destructive measures like IR35 and started recognising it as the economic powerhouse it is. If IPSE has one New Year’s resolution for 2018, it’s to keep fighting hard to get our sector the support and recognition it deserves from government.

25

Co-work ng Barking up the right tree…

Can this pet friendly co-working space unleash your potential?

Cocker-spaniel Baxter taking a short break

By Tom Hayward

W

ith the boom in self-employment stimulating a mass surge in the number of co-working spaces, how – in an ultra-competitive and ever-expanding market – do you successfully identify and exploit a niche? Well, you make co-working pet-friendly of course!

Nestled in a quiet side street just five minutes from the excitement of Holborn and Tottenham Court Road is Rentadesk, an intimate and community-focused co-working space predicated on organic growth.

Oh, and dogs.

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“It came about originally, because there were so many pet lovers here,” Bleddyn Williams, who founded Rentadesk in 2005, told Modern Work.

“One member, Farid – who designed the app KtchUp – brought in a Maltipoo called Ash, who stole the hearts of all the members. From there it was a natural development.

“We’ve always been pet-friendly, though we didn’t always shout about it. But now it has become something we do advertise. After people started bringing their pets in, we decided that we would officially allow it and talk about it.

“It’s something we decided to do simply because we like pets, rather than to maximise revenue or anything like that. We have a very strong community here and that means if somebody wants to bring their pets in, that’s fine – everybody is welcome here.

“We’ve had cats in before, though – thankfully – never on the same day as dogs!”

While the novelty of inquisitive animals wandering around while you work is certainly enough to attract people initially, it’s testament to the environment at Rentadesk that makes people want to stay beyond that.

modern work

Top 5 things to do in London this February

FUN AND GAMES ON ROOF EAST

Barney and Baxter lending a hand All photography by Holly Cant The space – and a second, newly opened site near Westfield in West London – is limited to 150 members per site. On any given day there are 20–30 people working from Rentadesk which, although smaller than many co-working spaces, creates a warm and personal working environment.

“The community is the really crucial thing, and that is exactly why we have spaces of this particular size,” Williams continued.

“It’s just big enough to have enough different places for people to sit in on different days, but it’s small enough for everyone to know everyone else’s name too.

“We try to help that by putting everyone’s photographs and a brief biography on the wall.

We also have a members’ website with profiles so that everyone can see each other and what they do.

“Over the years, our membership has grown organically to the point where we have a very wide mix of people. Really, we try not to be too focused in one particular field.

“The benefit of that, of course, is that working with people from all different professional backgrounds means you can get help with things you couldn’t do yourself. There is a lot of collaboration and that is all part of our community.”

Hot desks or fixed desks, the site offers anything from 25-hour memberships to unlimited 24-hours-a-day access. So, whether you’re a student looking for somewhere to work during evenings or weekends, or a career freelancer looking for a permanent space, Rentadesk has

February 2018

flexible memberships that caters for all.

The site is split over two levels. Downstairs has a mixture of smaller, individual offices and a bigger open plan area, regularly inhabited by snoozing dogs, that breeds a relaxed and communal work atmosphere.

But for those with a tight deadline, client call, or simply anyone seeking a little more peace and quiet, there’s additional space upstairs removed from the hustle and bustle below.

Free meeting rooms for members, a library of useful books, guides and resources, communal screens and Chromebooks, laptop chargers, batteries, stamps, lockers and storage units, and a selection of snacks are thoughtful and welcome extras.

“The plan is always to make sure that Rentadesk works for the people who work here,” Williams added.

“If we can do that, and it works for the second site in Westfield, then we can look at the scope for another new site. But we don’t want to minimise the quality of the environment. For us, it’s all about quality rather than quantity.”

Details: rentadesk.co.uk Nine-month old Ash stole the hearts of members

With January firmly behind us but a lingering chill in the air, the Social Fun & Games Club is heading to Roof East, with a winter-themed, neon world of curling, glass igloo dining and a ski-lodge bar.

Details: until 25 Feburary, roofeast.com LE PETIT CHEF What’s February for if not settling in somewhere cosy and eating to your heart’s content? Inspired by Marco Polo’s famed Silk Route travels, TT Liquor in east London is the venue for a six-course, interactive 3D food experience that will whisk its diners from Marseilles to Arabia, India to China.

Details: 2-28 Feburary, lepetitchef.com CANARY WHARF ICE RINK

Following hugely popular residencies in the past, the Canary Wharf ice rink is back.

So, whether you’re a complete novice or were born to skate, head out to the high rises of London’s financial district for a spot of dancing on ice.

Details: until 24 February, icerinktickets. co.uk/canary-wharf CHINESE NEW YEAR

Celebrate the ‘Year of the Dog’ in style with music, acrobatics and activities in the West End. Trafalgar Square will be a hub of activity throughout the day and, if you get peckish, head to Chinatown.

Details: Sunday, 18 February, iccauk.com CRAFT BEER RISING

If you’re after a nice strong tipple to take the edge off after a busy day, Craft Beer Rising in Brick Lane is a three-day festival exhibiting 175 of the best bevvies from around the world.

Details: 22-24 February, craftbeerrising.co.uk

27

12 gadgets every freelancer needs for the year ahead As the new year settles in, you may want to stay healthier, work smarter or just be a bit more comfortable in your life as a freelancer. Whatever your goals are for 2018, here, Gemma Church lists 12 gadgets to help you on your way.

1

Your virtual assistant

The debate rages on as to whether the all-new Amazon Echo or Google Home is the best smart speaker on the market.

Both use built-in virtual assistants that can do everything from answering your random questions, recalling your schedule or streaming your music. It depends on your needs.

The Echo naturally syncs better with the Amazon Prime service and has a slightly better sound quality, but Google Assistant is arguably the smarter of the two if you fire complicated questions at it, and it works straight out of the box.

Both are similar in price (the standard Amazon Echo retails at £89.99 and Google Home at £129) and perform equally well in connecting up your smart home.

2

Optimise your environment

A wonderful benefit of freelancing is the lack of colleagues to argue with over the air con settings. If you want to further automate your home office, then the Hive Hub controls a family of smart devices to optimise your environment, whether you’re in situ or on the road.

You can easily control and monitor your heating, sensors, lights, plugs and third-party devices through the app.

3

The standing desk

The standing desk has gained popularity recently thanks to the supposed health benefits it provides. The IKEA Skarsta sit/stand desk is a versatile and cost-effective option, with prices starting from £179. You just have to crank a handle on the side to raise the desk to your optimum standing height or lower it to a sitting level.

4

The smart kettle

The third-generation Smarter iKettle is a little pricey at £99.99 but it’ll let you remotely boil from anywhere outside your home. Through an app, you can customise the water temperature, check the water level and schedule it to boil first thing in the morning.

Plus, it syncs with Amazon and Google’s virtual assistants so you can just ask the kettle to boil.

It may sound a little fanciful, but (according to iKettle’s manufacturers) you waste up to 33 hours a year waiting for the kettle to boil. So, you could argue that it’ll pay for itself.

28

modern work

8

Powered USB hub

If your desk is cluttered with devices and you never have a free power socket, then you need a powered USB hub.

These hubs attach to your computer and allow you to attach multiple devices to recharge, transfer data or attach external devices such as your mouse or keyboard.

The Anker 9-Port USB Data Hub retails at £79.99 and will give you speedy data transfer rates of up to 5Gbps. There’s also an additional USB port devoted exclusively to charging.

9

5

Perfect your posture

The Lumo Lift is a posture coach to help you sit straighter and taller. You just attach a small device under your shirt using a magnetic catch, set your target posture and if you start to slouch, you’ll feel a vibration to remind you to stand or sit up straight.

Through the device’s app, you can also monitor your step count and the calories you burn in a day. Retailing at £69.99, its price is comparable to a FitBit and other activity trackers.

6

Portable power

If you’re on the go, the last thing you need is a flatlining laptop. There are plenty of portable battery chargers available, but the (succinctly titled) USB C Portable Charger RAVPower 20100mAh Built-in AC Outlet Power Bank External Battery Pack lets you charge two devices simultaneously, has two USB ports alongside the UK three-pin socket and promises to save you 60 per cent off your recharge time. It’s compact and comes with a robust carry case too.

7

Share your USB devices

If you switch between computers regularly, then the Aten US224 is a two-port USB peripheral sharing device that lets two computers share the use of four USB devices. In other words, you can use the same mouse, keyboard or other such devices without buying in any extra kit and cutting down on your cable clutter. A life saver for tech-focused freelancers.

February 2018

Noise cancelling headphones

If you need to zone out or drown out a noisy environment, then the Bose Quietcomfort 35 Wireless Headphones II are the crème de la crème of noise cancelling in terms of sound quality and comfort.

With a hefty price tag of £329.95, these headphones also have Google Assistant built in.

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On-the-go printing

While you may not need this gadget, it does take the pain away from printing your photos and it’s a great way to quickly create moodboards and lay out your ideas. The Prynt Pocket attaches to your iPhone, and you can then edit your snaps from your camera roll or social media streams in the app.

It doesn’t need ink cartridges, and you can sign up to a subscription service to automatically get sent new paper when you’re starting to run low. Retails at £150.

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Anti-theft rucksack

You don’t want to lose your gadgets by falling victim to one of the 400,000 global pickpocketing incidents that occur every day.

The Bobby Anti-Theft Backpack costs £74.95 and is made of cut-proof material, includes hidden zippers and secret pockets to keep your belongings safe. There’s also an integrated USB charging port, it comes in three colour choices and features separate compartments to fit a 15.6” laptop and a 10” tablet.

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Slippers reinvented

Every freelancer needs a little comfort and the mahabis slippers offer just that. They have detachable soles, which means you can go seamlessly from house to outside. Available in a range of colours, the classic design retails at £79.00.

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Sowing the seeds for saving success

I

t’s that time of year again. Business owners and directors everywhere have taken stock of their financial performance in 2017 and are putting their plans in place for 2018.

And, of course, everyone wants a nice healthy profit at the end of the year – but it can be easy to forget it doesn’t all have to come from increased revenue.

You can actually make a big difference throughout the year with a small change of attitude and a few choice business savings. Here are some of the best tips and tricks: 1) Manage your marketing spend Traditional, above-the-line marketing methods like TV and print advertising don’t come 30

cheap. However, these days there are many more cost-effective marketing channels at your disposal. Explore ways to maximise your reach and impact with cheaper, easier-to-use channels like social media, email and blogging.

2) Know your customer One of the main reasons online marketing channels like email and social media are so much more cost-effective is that they allow you to target your audience more efficiently than traditional advertising.

If you can get a clear and detailed picture of your ideal customer, you can target them directly without wasting time marketing to people who aren’t interested in your business.

3) Review and re-negotiate It’s all too easy to get complacent about your relationships with suppliers – especially when you’re busy with the day-to-day running of your business. Make sure you stay alert and review and renegotiate your contracts regularly, always pushing for the best rates: you’ll be surprised how much you can save.

4) Be open to outsourcing If you need extra help in your business, remember: employees can be expensive, so explore ways of outsourcing work. Consider using flexible expertise without committing to a longterm employment contract. There are so many modern work

options out there, from virtual assistants and contractor social media managers to freelance copywriters and designers.

Make the best use you can of the resources at your disposal. Outsourcing will allow you to not only cut down on your business costs, but also bring a fresh perspective to your company.

5) Hire for attitude over experience Sometimes, of course, it will make more sense to employ someone than to outsource. And when this happens, don’t forget that employers often have more success hiring newly qualified people with a great attitude than more experienced staff. After all, passion and enthusiasm can’t be taught – the job can be.

February 2018

6) Go green Basic maintenance costs like electricity can often be one of the biggest expenses for a business.

By being a bit more environmentally conscious, you can save not just money but the planet as well!

7) Go virtual One of your biggest maintenance costs will, of course, be your office – if indeed you have one.

Whether you own or rent, offices are often a big expense. While your team is still relatively small, you may find you can work together virtually, using online ‘offices’ and video conferencing tools.

Co-working spaces are another flexible, pay-as-

you-go option that may be more cost-effective.

8) Study your time Saving money is basically about efficiency. That might be efficiency with your electricity, with your staff or processes, or indeed with any other aspect of your business.

In so many cases, one of the biggest inefficiencies is the way people spend their time. Long meetings where an email would do just as well – or huge email chains that could have been resolved with a quick phone call. If you can avoid timely engagements, do. Sometimes, just monitoring and reviewing how you and your staff spend your time can be a real eye-opener and, ultimately, a major money-saver.

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The freelancer’s guide to

SHEFFIELD

By Tristan Grove

O

nce upon a time, Sheffield’s steel city nickname simply referred to the booming metal industry on which it was built. Nowadays, it might better apply to its modern art installations and the shining new steel and glass buildings that have grown out of the city’s 21st century renaissance.

From being the centre of the UK’s steel trade, in the post-industrial era Sheffield has transformed itself into a thriving, alternative hub of the north. Now England’s fifth-largest city, it has experienced a boom over the last 20 years, with flagship architectural developments in the centre and a new economy based on services, shopping and the ‘knowledge industry’ emanating from its two thriving universities.

With Sheffield’s rapid regeneration came a vibrant new creative scene: alternative art galleries, sprawling independent music studios and

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trendy cafés, bars and clubs springing up.

And with house prices far below almost any other major English city, it’s no wonder young professionals and self-employed people from across the country are drawn to this new cultural centre.

LIFE AS A FREELANCER In the last 10 years, Sheffield has become a highly popular destination for freelancers and the self-employed. This is partly driven by the wealth of opportunities offered by the city’s burgeoning creative industries.

It may also have something to do with the extraordinarily low living costs. If you’re a freelancer who’s able to work remotely, why not get more bang for your hard-earned buck in a lowcost, buzzing city like Sheffield?

And where freelancers move, of course, co-working spaces follow. Sheffield now has a lively co-working scene, with a broad spread of independent spaces right across the city. One of the biggest and most successful is Union Street; an airy, exciting space right in the heart of Sheffield, offering everything from meeting rooms to hot desks, with fees as low as £45 per month.

Not far from Union Street, just around the corner from Sheffield train station, is the city’s other pre-eminent co-working space, Electric Works. With a bright, warm interior, working spaces for everyone from sole traders to young

businesses, and even a helter-skelter slide from the top floor to the reception, Electric Works is a quirky, vibrant space with an offering to suit almost any freelancer.

GETTING AROUND One other reason so many freelancers are moving to Sheffield is because it is an extremely well-connected city. With regular direct trains to London St Pancras (2 hours), Birmingham (1 hr 15 mins), Leeds (1 hour) and Manchester (1 hour), it’s easy for freelancers to travel to meet clients right across the UK. Getting around the city is easy too – particularly with the cheap and comprehensive local bus service. You can also push your transport costs even lower by investing in weekly or even monthly saver tickets.

And, although buses are probably the cheapest and easiest form of local transport, if you’re trying to get quickly from one major part of the city to another, there’s also the Sheffield

modern work

Supertram.

If you’re a motorist, you’ll be pleased to learn that Sheffield is actually much easier to drive around than most cities, with few one-way systems and reasonably good parking. Because Sheffield’s centre is quite compact, it’s also quite easy to get around on foot.

WHERE TO STAY One of the biggest advantages of Sheffield is undoubtedly the low cost of living. And one of the biggest reasons for this is the city’s affordable accommodation. In the city centre, the average rent for a one-bedroom flat is £500 per month, and this falls to a very reasonable £400 in the quieter suburbs. Not bad compared with Greater London’s £1,200 a month!

Alternatively, if you’re a more mobile freelancer looking to spend some time in Sheffield, there are spacious, comfortable Airbnb apartments right in the heart of the city for an average of approximately £30 per night. Mid-range

February 2018

hotels are also reasonably priced, at about £50 per night.

WHAT TO DO AT THE WEEKEND Now for the fun part. You’ve worked a hard week building and developing your freelance business: how do you unwind at the weekend?

Well, in the daytime, Sheffield has a buzzing cultural scene. In the city centre, the modern, stately Tudor Square is home to the Crucible and Lyceum theatres, as well as the Winter Garden, the largest urban glass house in Europe.

Not far from Tudor Square, you can also find the Millennium Galleries, founded in partnership with the V&A, and boasting everything from archaeology and natural history to treasures from the city’s metalworking past and the famous Ruskin Art Collection.

And, wandering through the city, you’re sure to have a warm welcome from the locals:

last year, Sheffield was voted not only the safest, but also the friendliest city in the UK. As for the evening, Sheffield has a humming nightlife. Whether you’re looking for pumping club nights in the city centre or quiet craft beer evenings in Kelham Island, there’s something to suit every taste.

Of particular note is the Leadmill (back to that metalworking past again), one of the oldest and most famous music venues in the city. But there are plenty of other renowned clubs and venues across the city, including Fez, the Harley and Foundry.

But if anything really epitomises the spirit of the reborn Steel City, it is probably the independent and ever-so-slightly gritty bars of Division Street. While their craft beer menus and edgy store fronts speak to the city’s new alternative culture, the recent musical history of these venues calls up Sheffield’s creative soul.

In fact, it was on Division Street where Jarvis Cocker was reportedly inspired to write Common People – after he fell out of a window and broke his leg trying to impress a not-socommon girl...

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How to stop worrying and learn

T

By Jason Ward o be a freelancer is to live with the terrifying and tedious reality that sometimes you’ll have nothing to do and sometimes you’ll have 14 things to do (and in the time you’ve spent reading this sentence, it’s become 16 things – sorry about that).

An uneven workload is part of the gig, but tight deadlines have a tendency to make capable, productive adults feel like children late on a Sunday afternoon who haven’t started their homework yet. Deadlines needn’t inspire terror, however: when they’re not making you feel queasy, they give shape to what otherwise might be shapeless.

Without firm endings in sight, all of my work would take at least a third longer to complete. There are certain ghastly pieces from the start of my career that – if I hadn’t been professionally obliged to kick some sense into them – I might still be writing today.

As with most arduous things, the solution to meeting deadlines is boring and expected.

There is no revolutionary diet, no one weird trick, just regular exercise and healthy food.

The best way to finish work on time is to plan effectively based upon your knowledge of the job in hand and an honest appraisal of yourself. Which tasks are urgent and which ones can wait? What time of day are you most productive?

What slows you down?

To varying extents, we’re all blighted by a magical optimism when it comes to our own productivity, but you should know how long it realistically takes you to do certain tasks, either at your regular pace or at a sprint (if not, then there are time-tracking apps that can provide an idea).

This will help not just in planning how to meet a deadline, but whether it’s even feasible; the best time to negotiate a deadline is before you start a job, rather than hours before everything is due.

Likewise, if you know you’re not going to make it then it’s better to tell your client with a fair amount of time than to wait until the deadline floats past. Even if finishing a task takes just as long, it’ll cause less consternation to meet an extended deadline than to miss the original one.

The ‘portion control’ solution here is factoring in a buffer period for the inevitable de-

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lays: your schedule should not be so tight that a roguish broadband connection one morning will derail you entirely.

Missing deadlines has consequences, even if it’s just that someone is a bit grumpy. There are clients who will be understanding if you’re slightly late – they’re working with buffers of their own. But it only decreases the likelihood that they’ll want to use you again, not to mention that it’s hard to maintain the high ground about someone not paying invoices promptly if you can’t deliver your own work on time.

At every point in the process, clear and specific communication can avoid frustration: if someone has said the deadline is Friday, does

Freelancers work

14

hours extra a week compared to employed people

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to love deadlines

that mean by the time they arrive in their office on Friday morning or by the end of Friday? And what is the end of Friday, anyway? Is that the end of the work day or 23:59?

These are all questions that are best asked and answered before Friday morning, whatever that may mean. The best practices can only help so much when time is against you. In those frantic situations it helps to focus on the work rather than the time you have left.

When my deadlines are at their most pressing, I squirrel away my phone and delete the clock from my desktop taskbar. Obviously, sometimes you will need to work longer hours, but even then, it’s better to allow for this possible

February 2018

outcome. If I have a lengthy job, I’ll try to make sure I don’t have major evening plans for the last couple of days, just in case.

An all-nighter can seem attractive when matters get desperate, but more often than not, you just get a few more hours and you lose most of the next day to sleep or sluggishness. As a piece of emergency kit, it’s a lifejacket under your seat: it might save your life, but you don’t want to end up in the position where you need it, as that means you’re about to drown.

The real problem isn’t the scheduling, of course, it’s the work. An honest appraisal of oneself entails being frank about procrastination.

Everyone develops their own ways of putting off work – each day, I get through a bathtub’s worth of tea, so I can dawdle by the kettle, and my flat is ruthlessly clean, because I start tidying whenever I’m stuck (and I’m almost always stuck).

Social media is a massive time drain: it’s difficult when the machine that facilitates your work also happens to give you immediate access to everyone you know, all human knowledge ever and videos of corgis playing swingball.

Scheduling can be dangerously close to procrastination too, an activity that merely looks and feels like work. For my first book I created an elaborate planning spreadsheet that was beautiful as a digital organisational worksheet can be, but I barely referred to it.

Now I plot out my days with a bullet journal, eschewing the gorgeous, ornate designs that online articles suggested in favour of something that was quick and clear, and designed to be used rather than admired.

To combat procrastination, willpower can’t be taken as a given – it’s more pragmatic to admit the ways you distract yourself and ensure they’re not readily available when you’re supposed to be working. Famously, Jonathan Franzen used to write while wearing a blindfold and earplugs, but it isn’t necessary to be quite so radical.

I recently added an extension to my internet browser which blocks specified websites during set hours of the day. I still find myself instinctively heading for Twitter whenever I can’t think of my next sentence, but instead of strangers arguing, I’m greeted by a black screen and a gentle reminder to get back to work. This usually does the trick, and if it doesn’t then at least my carpets get a good vacuuming.

Creative sector on the rise IT’S well known how much the creative industries rely on the self-employed. In fact, the self-employed are estimated to make up no less than 47 per cent of creative professionals in the UK. That’s compared with an average of 15 per cent self-employment across all other industries. So it was excellent news when it was revealed that the self-employment-driven creative sector is surging ahead in the UK economy.

Figures released by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) in January show that the UK’s creative industries have grown by 7.6 per cent since 2015. They are now worth £91.8 billion – equivalent to £10.5 million per hour. The figures also revealed that in total they have grown by 44.8 per cent since 2010 - much more than the average industrial growth rate of 22.7 per cent.

Some of the most self-employed-dominated areas of the creative industries seem to have grown especially quickly. Artistic, literary and media occupations, for example, have grown by 103 per cent since 2008.

Tom Purvis, political and economic advisor for IPSE, said: “It’s fantastic to see the creative industries – a sector powered in no small part by its many self-employed professionals – growing at this pace. As this vital sector grows, it also leads to more people joining the ranks of the UK’s self-employed.”

With self-employment driving the creative industries forward, IPSE had also called on the government to support both the creative sector and freelancers in general – as invaluable assets to the UK economy.

In a statement, Purvis added: “Freelancers currently contribute approximately £119 billion to the UK economy every year, so it is important that the government continues to support the growth of freelancer-heavy sectors like the creative industries.

“The creative industries and the flexible labour market are two of the UK’s key competitive advantages on the international stage, so it is essential the government not only puts their needs front and centre in the Brexit negotiations, but also does everything it can to support their growth.”

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Ask the expert How to plan for the tax year ahead to avoid the rush come 31 January?

Andy Chamberlain Tax expert

T

he frantic rush to get the tax return in by the 31 Jan is an annual event for the 4.8 million self-employed people in UK, and often a painful one. But the pain can be significantly reduced by a taking a few relatively simple steps, even if you are one of the independent souls that prefer not to use an accountant.

BE ORGANISED: Safely store away your p60, note down your expenses; save and categorise your receipts; log your income as it comes in. There are apps that can help with this, and it’s well worth becoming familiar with them - in a few years time, most businesses will have to use an app as part of the Government’s Making Tax Digital programme.

DON’T LEAVE IT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE: Even if you are very organised, there’s often something that requires searching for or thinking about, and it may take time. Changes to Child Tax Credit may have caused some head scratching this year, and things like gift aid for charitable donations are worth searching for as you could be able to reduce your bill. Allow yourself enough time to gather together these extra bits of information, and start completing your return at least a few weeks before deadline day.

What are the top costeffective ways to market your business?

Toby Tetrault Marketing expert

W

hen you’re self-employed it can be difficult to decide how to split your time and your budgets between the different activities needed to run your business. So here are some quick, cost-effective ways to market your business better.

GET ONLINE

Make sure you have a professional, online presence. No matter the industry, this is still peoples first port of call to check the credibility of a product or service. With template building websites such as Wix.com and WordPress, there is no excuse not to be online.

BE VISIBLE WITH GOOGLE A very common missed step is forgetting to register the business with Google. Register with Google My Business so your business can be found by potential customers or clients in search and maps.

BE AWARE OF YOUR COMPETITION If your company is focused on its online exposure to get business, being aware and one step ahead of your competition is crucial. Using free/trial online tools such as SEMRush or Spyfu will highlight what your online competitors are doing and, what you can do better to get more customers.

MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY SUBMIT THE RETURN.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR OFFLINE ACTIVITY

Some people stop at the point a calculation has been generated. Keep clicking through until you receive confirmation the process is complete.

And finally, don’t forget to make the payment – the deadline is the same for submitting the return: 31 January.

Not all businesses need a company page on social media, but social platforms are powerful for many offline activities. LinkedIn has a powerful search functionality, use it to your advantage when either looking for new clients or networking.

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modern work

Financial guidance Making the complex Simple.

Close Brothers has been inspiring people to make a positive change to their financial future for over 45 years. Our skills and expertise help to make complicated subjects like tax planning, mortgages, pensions, retirement and estate planning easy to understand.

We are proud to be selected as the preferred Financial Planning partner for IPSE members.

For more information about our programme of dedicated seminars, webinars and online financial education portal, visit: membership@ipse.co.uk

0808 278 4083

www.ipse.co.uk/closebrothers

Telephone calls made to any member of Close Brothers Asset Management may be recorded, Close Brothers Asset Management is a trading name of Close Asset Management Limited (Registered number: 01644127). Close Brothers Group plc, registered in England and Wales and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 10 Crown Place, London EC2A 4FT. Š Copyright Close Asset Management Limited 2017.

CBAM4938 Jan 18

February 2018

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FREELANCING FOR STUDENTS

#NEXT100YEARS - CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH FORWARD LADIES 2018 will mark a centenary since women got the vote and International Women’s Day 2018 there will be a campaign asking you to #PressforProgress. Forward Ladies, in partnership with AQL and LCF Law will be celebrating this milestone with a day of inspirational speakers, networking and debate on gender parity.

Leeds

This event is part of a new series and is designed to give students across all disciplines top tips and advice on how to successfully launch a career as a freelancer.

Every attendee will receive a free IPSE student membership to help you get started as a freelancer.

Listen to keynote speakers give valuable insights into the skills that will enable you to make the brave step into life as a freelancer straight after university.

To end with a panel session with freelancers from a range of industries who will share their journeys, challenges, successes and why they chose to go freelance.

Nottingham Thursday, 15 February, 4pm-7pm Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare St, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ SOCIAL MEDIA AND GDPR WEBINAR In this session, chartered marketer and independent consultant Luan Wise will review the latest advice from the ICO and legal profession on the new data protection laws and the impact they will have on the use of social media for business.

Date: Tuesday, 10 April, 12.30pm-1.30pm

Friday, 2 March, 9.30am-11.30am

HOW TO USE TWITTER TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WEBINAR Chartered marketer and independent consultant Luan Wise will be sharing advice on using the fast-paced platform that focuses on ‘what’s happening in the world that people are talking about right now.’

Date: Monday, 12 February, 12.30pm-1.30pm INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION WITH FREELANCE MUM

Forward ladies are offering IPSE members a 10 per cent discount on ticket prices- simply enter the code ACCA10x when ordering the tickets online TOP 10 TIPS ON HOW TO PROTECT YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Do you need help navigating the intricacies of Intellectual Property? Not sure who in your business should sign an NDA or a confidentiality agreement? Are you struggling to understand what you can and can’t trademark?

If so, go along to the Linkilaw IP workshop at WeWork London Fields. With expert lawyers from Linkilaw, the legal platform for startups this event will equip you with the crucial knowledge you need to ensure your business’ Intellectual Property is protected.

Date: Tuesday, 20 February, 6pm-8pm Venue: We Work, London Field

IPSE Ambassadors Freelance Mum is proud to celebrate International Women’s Day, for the fourth year running with their showcase event – Brave, Bold & Bonkers! There will be three guest speakers at this empowering event, each with their own brave, bold or bonkers story.

Bristol Thursday, 8 March, 10am-2pm HOW TO REGISTER AS A LIMITED COMPANY Are you looking for a step by step guide on how to register a company? Companies House in partnership with the British Library will tell you everything you need to know about choosing and the rules around names, what information you need send among other things.

Date: Wednesday, 21 February, 10am-1pm Venue: Business & IP centre, The British Libray

To find out more about the events visit ipse.co.uk/events

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February 2018

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Win up to ÂŁ5,000 for your business Awards Categories Designed for new and experienced freelancers from any industry.

Freelancer of the Year For those aged 24 and over

Young Freelancer of the Year For those aged 23 and under

New to Freelancing For anyone who has operated their current business for under 2 years

Enter now before Friday 30 March at:

www.nationalfreelancersday.com/awards2018 IPSE Events Team

020 8897 9970

Thursday 28 June 10.00 - 17.00 40

events@ipse.co.uk

@TeamIPSE #IPSEAwards

For the 10th year running we will be celebrating the very best of the UK’s most exciting, driven and enterprising self-employed at our annual flagship event National Freelancers Day modern work