Adam Smith Institute welcomes the Taylor Review on the gig economy

The Adam Smith Institute welcomes the Taylor Review out today reporting on the Gig Economy.

Sam Dumitriu, Research Economist at the Adam Smith Institute, says:

"It's good news that Matthew Taylor has resisted Labour's call to ban zero-hours contracts. They provide flexibility that benefits both workers and bosses. People on zero-hours contracts actually have higher job satisfaction that ordinary employees and when McDonald's offered staff a choice most chose flexibility over security.

"Gig Economy firms like Uber, Deliveroo and CitySprint are good for both consumers and workers. They deserve a lot of the credit for Britain's record high employment rate. We should be wary of attempts to regulate new flexible forms of employment.

"One of the Report's findings suggested forcing platforms to calculate 'average' and expected hourly wages. But that would impose administrative burdens that established players can handle but new entrants might struggle with.

“We don’t want to punish employers for giving workers more rights by hitting them with higher taxes, and raising taxes on the self-employed is unpopular and will simply be seen as a money grab. The Government should be bold instead by combining National Insurance and Income Tax while expanding the personal allowance to help out those on low incomes.”

To arrange an interview or request further comment please contact Matt Kilcoyne on 07584778207.