BRITAIN faces an exodus of self-employed workers unless the government urgently introduces new support for the sector, a new report has warned.

An inquiry into the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the sector found that less than a third are confident that they want to continue working for themselves. 

The inquiry’s interim report, published today, found that more than half of self-employed workers had lost between 60 and 100 per cent of their income in 2020.

The findings were based on a survey of 2,500 people promoted by trade unions Prospect and Community.

The inquiry launched by the two unions called on the government urgently to introduce a new self-employment stabilisation scheme.

It would close gaps in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which left hundreds of thousands ineligible for support, the inquiry said.

Some 88 per cent of survey respondents did not believe that support during the pandemic had been commensurate with their tax contribution, while 73 per cent had been unable to access welfare support such as universal credit.

Community general secretary Roy Rickhuss said an exodus of self-employed workers “would be nothing short of a disaster for our economy, prospects of an economic recovery and the livelihoods of thousands of working people and their families.”

Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said the figures “should be a massive wake-up call to the government.”

“In the long term we need fundamental changes in how these workers are treated,” he said. 

“For now, the government has to listen immediately to this inquiry and introduce a scheme to halt the stampede away from self-employment that their policies are causing.”

The inquiry, made up of independent experts, politicians and industry figures, will publish its final report in February. 

The Treasury said the SEISS is “one of the most generous in the world” and that it has done all that it can to “help as many people as possible.”