Debt Talk: Insecurities of being self employed

Just over 13% of the UK population are self-employed. Is being self-employed the way forward or are we forced to choose the path? In this month’s Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray spoke with three guests from different perspectives.

James Harris has been self-employed for nearly 25 years in the creative sector. He explained how funding in the creative sector has been reduced. There are also very few fashion shows compared to when he began his career in the sector. His work began to dry out and it can vary from season to season. His biggest worry is personal finance since Universal Credit introduced the Minimum Income Floor leading to him getting into rent and other arrears.

Andy Chamberlain - Director of Policy from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-employed Limited - explained the direction of travel within the context of the self-employment sector. He focused on the construction sector is heavily relies on self-employment and then perhaps the creative sector which James may be part of. In terms of age rent range, he focused on people in their 40s onwards. However, he stated that employers should not deliberately choose to hire self-employed to avoid giving workers the rights. However, on the whole, people who get into the sector prefer self-determination.

Sam Nurse - CEO of Money Advice Hub - emphasised some of the issues that she sees in advising self-employed communities who are struggling financially. Although precarious jobs by the nature of the profession could be a challenge, the other factor was due to a lack of bookkeeping experience or not filing financial reports on time to relevant authorities. She recognised that Universal Credit’s Minimum Income Floor ended up discriminating against self-employed, unlike employees who claim welfare support.

The panelists also provided TOP TIPS to Debt Talk Listeners. The next podcast is on: ‘Foodbanks and welfare support.’

Comments

Betar Bangla radio’s Ripon Ray: How fashionista turned political activist and debt advisor

PUBLISHED: 09:02 13 March 2019 | UPDATED: 09:03 13 March 2019 Emma Bartholomew Ripon Ray: Picture: Rukya Khan Debt advisor and radio talk show host Ripon Ray tells Emma Bartholomew how he’s seeing more and more people who are unable to just pay the basic bills Ripon Ray: Picture: Nick De Marco Self-confessed “arty-farty creative” Ripon Ray originally set out to be a fashionista in life, when he “found his calling” and changed track to become an activist. He’d been studying at the London School of Fashion, but going on an anti-fascist protest “triggered a couple of things”. “I dumped my studies and went to Kingsley College where I was doing full-on activism, and organising protest marches,” he told the Gazette . “I loved it but I got kicked out of there because I was too much of an activist and I wasn’t focusing on my studies.” He knuckled under, bagged a history degree and started out in the charity sector as a housing advi...

Shame no more to talk about domestic abuse and money trouble!

Silence can be a deadly killer for women of domestic abuse and instead of just hindering their recovery it could lead to their fatality. According to the Office of National Statistics (2015), two women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner in a relationship. The definition of domestic abuse has been expanded in recent times by legislation: an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence. Julia Oviedo, a victim and survivor of domestic abuse, shared her personal experience on ‘In Conversation with Ripon Ray…the Community Money Matters Show’ on Betar Bangla Radio. It may seem just another story to many listeners but for an individual to talk about such a personal experience requires bravery, confidence and the will to encourage other victims to come forward and share their experiences. In her case, it was physic...

Housing & homelessness on Your Money Matters...with Ripon Ray

I would like to thank Marc Lancaster, Housing Policy Officer of Tower Hamlets Council, for coming on Your Money Matters show this week to explain to me about the rights and responsibilities of being a private, housing association or local authority tenant. He talked about the differences between Section 8 and Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) and how you can use the law strategically to protect yourself. Current legislation protects a tenant's deposit. If it's not protected you can ask the court to make a judgement against your landlord to compensate you three times the amount due for breaking the law. He elucidated that local authorities also have a duty to support vulnerable tenants with advice and provide accommodation when they are at risk of homelessness.

Search This Blog