Ill-prepared
Think tank: Fabian Society
Author(s): Eloise Sacares; Luke Raikes
September 8, 2025
This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society makes the case for strengthening sick pay for the self-employed.
Self-employed workers account for 13 per cent of all people in work. There are more self-employed people than work in manufacturing, and four times as many as work in finance and insurance. Yet they have historically been overlooked by governments of all stripes.
The government’s ‘make work pay’ agenda will see the biggest improvement to employment rights in a generation. It includes some provisions that will help the self-employed, such as reforms to employment status, the right to a written contract, tackling late payments, and extending health and safety and blacklisting protections. But as it stands, it risks leaving the 4.4 million people who are self-employed excluded from key provisions such as sick pay.
In this report, Eloise Sacares and Luke Raikes make the case for sick pay for the self-employed, review support in the UK and other countries, and set out recommendations for the government to consider.
