Contractors will have a “louder, stronger voice” that will be “impossible to ignore” following the evolution and rebrand of PCG into the Association of Independent Professionals and Self-Employed (IPSE).
The move will expand the scope of PCG beyond its traditional limited company contractor membership to include the UK’s broader, and much larger, community of self-employed sole traders and partnerships.
PCG/IPSE chief executive Chris Bryce explains: “There are now more than 4.55million people working for themselves in the UK. By positioning ourselves to provide support, services and assistance to anyone working alone, we will have a louder, stronger voice when it comes to changing legislation and securing a fairer, better environment for this vibrant sector of the UK’s labour force.
“Self-employment is the zeitgeist. It has grown by an astonishing 39% since 2000 and has outstripped growth in traditional employment by 3 to 1 in the last decade. With nearly 22,000 members we are already the largest association of independent professionals in the EU. Simply put, as IPSE, our voice will be almost five million strong. Standing together as one, we are impossible to ignore.”
Responding to the needs of the “the new way of working”
According to Bryce, PCG’s there is much more to the rebrand than a change of name, and widening the scope of IPSE’s potential membership reflects a more fundamental shift in the composition of the UK’s labour force.
“By rebranding to IPSE, we are responding to a structural change in the UK’s labour market, where self-employment has become the new way of working,” he says.
“The way we work in the UK has changed almost beyond recognition in the last decade. Every month thousands of people are waking up to the benefits that come with starting a business and IPSE will be there to ensure they are supported and protected every step of the way.”
The new IPSE’s services will also be broadened to accommodate the needs of independent professionals who may not necessarily be limited company contractors: “We are widening our services to cater for a more diverse and larger group of people, who, day by day are becoming increasingly important to the UK economy.”
Making the “stronger, louder voice” work on behalf of contractors
As the number of self-employed workers in the UK is predicted to overtake the number of public sector employees, Bryce believes that independent professionals should be higher up the policy agenda: “Individuals in business on their own account need representation and with our history fighting for freelancers and contractors, we are the right organisation to step up to this challenge.
“It is time Government truly recognised the dramatic shift in the way we work in the UK. While there’s never been a better time to work independently, much can be done to create a level playing field for the people brave enough to go it alone.
“IPSE's aim is to make self-employment central to the economic debate in Government and to ensure policies are in place that make it easier to become self-employed and to be self-employed.”
Simply put, as IPSE, our voice will be almost five million strong. Standing together as one, we are impossible to ignore
Chris Bryce, IPSE
Contractors and freelancers remain the core membership
Despite broadening the scope of its membership, IPSE maintains the needs of its current core membership of limited company contractors and freelancers will continue to be met, particularly as most of its current 21,000 members fall into this category.
“Contractors still very much make up our core membership, and we have rebranded with this in mind, continues Bryce. “Many of the issues contractors face, like IR35 for example, are shared by many other forms of self-employment.”
Until now, with the exception of the support of professional and trades bodies, independent professionals and the self employed have lacked a single unifying voice to promote their diverse interests at a national level. PCG’s evolution into IPSE looks set to address that gap, a move like to benefit contractors.