Self-employed – the nouveau pauvre

Last Updated: April 26, 2014By

Here we find evidence of the ‘bogus hairdresser’ phenomenon – that increasing numbers of people are declaring themselves to be self-employed without actually having jobs. This article is useful as it provides figures to support the claim, with graphs showing that the number of people saying they were self-employed shot up shortly after the rules changed on April 29 last year, with an increased burden on the tax credit system. There has recently been a sharp drop in the declared earnings of people who say they are self-employed, but earnings figures are published almost two years after the relevant tax year, so it will be January 2016 before we see what all this jiggery-pokery has done to self-employment earnings.

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4 Comments

  1. Andrew Peacock April 26, 2014 at 6:03 pm - Reply

    this mickey mouse work place pensions is the reason for the sharp increase ! it was inevitable as bosses cant afford to pay into staff pensions IMPOSED BY THIS MICKEY MOUSE UN-ELECTED TORY SHOWER OF S***.

  2. […] Self-employed – the nouveau pauvre. […]

  3. Tim Blackwell April 29, 2014 at 8:36 am - Reply

    I’m not aware that any significant rules did change on April 29th last year (other than for a tiny number of people in Cheshire). I am sure that bogus (and partially bogus) self-employment is real however. Encouraging people to set up as self-employed and claim working tax credits flatters the unemployment figures, helps Work Programme providers and enables claimants to avoid the draconian sanctions regime under JSA.

  4. hugosmum70 April 29, 2014 at 7:51 pm - Reply

    Tim, your spot on there. it happened to a few people i know who are on ESA but were told they wouldnt be touched if they found something to do that could render them self employed, photography seems to have been one of the bigger ones as anyone can do that. they have to register as such with the tax people and if they do do any work keep the reciepts and show them to jobcentre as a way of proving your doping a job. even if you earn nothing yu justtel them you earned nothing in a given month/ they dont quibble it.

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