Self-employed – Community Trade Union

Crackdown on late-payments culture welcomed

Community — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 06:15:35 +0000

Responding to the UK Government’s announcement of a crackdown on late payments, Dominic Armstrong Head of Policy & Communications for Community Union said: “Community wholeheartedly welcomes the Labour government’s move to tackle the culture of late payments for small businesses and the self-employed. “We hear far too often from our members that they have been […]

Ministerial meeting with VOTP

Community — Fri, 09 May 2025 09:55:04 +0000

This week Community and Voice of the Postmaster (VOTP) held a productive meeting with Gareth Thomas MP, Minister for Services, Small Businesses, and Exports. The discussion focused on a number of key priorities affecting self-employed postmasters and small businesses, including ongoing challenges within the sector; the need for stronger protections and fair treatment; and how government policy…

Source

Why VOtP members should join Community

Community — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 16:33:09 +0000

In a guest blog, Voice of the Postmaster Secretary Brent Johnson outlines why postmasters should join Community Union. You may have heard about the new partnership between Voice of the Postmaster (VotP) and Community Union. If not, you can check it out here. Since the formation of VotP, besides first and foremost fair remuneration, the main issue I’ve heard from VotP members is that they…

Source

Community and Voice of the Postmaster sign MOU

Community — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:07:24 +0000

Community is pleased to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Voice of the Postmaster, which represents self-employed postmasters across the UK. Voice of the Postmaster (VotP) began in early 2022 as a grassroots initiative on a Facebook page for postmasters struggling from lack of support and representation. The group quickly gained momentum and grew in size as a campaigning force…

Source

Changes to flexible working law and what do they mean for you?

Jack Wholey — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 16:00:24 +0000

As of April 2024, multiple changes have been made to the Employments Rights (Flexible Working) Act 2023, as well as a separate piece of secondary legislation to improve the rights of anyone making a flexible working request, and make it easier for any employee to request flexible working arrangements in England, Scotland and Wales. Flexible working is a way of working to suit an employee’s…

Source

Engaging with management around the menopause

Jacqueline Thomas — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 22:27:49 +0000

How do we ensure that management adhere to and take into consideration how they treat their employees who suffer from menopausal symptoms? Simple – we educate and engage with management and employers to ensure fairness is delivered for anyone suffering the long-term effects of the menopause. While representing a member in my branch who had been unwell on several occasions, she was diagnosed with…

Source

Community blasts scourge of late payments for self-employed

Community — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 18:26:48 +0000

Community Union’s Kate Dearden has described how the scourge of late payments is causing misery to hundreds of thousands of self-employed workers, freelancers and small businesses. Kate, who is Community’s Head of Research, Policy and Politics, told the London Assembly’s Economy Committee today that the union’s members in the sector were being forced to repeatedly chase disgracefully late…

Source

Autumn statement 2023: What we need to see

Community — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:42:00 +0000

On Wednesday 22 November, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his Autumn Statement alongside the latest economic forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Ahead of this budget, we’ve outlined some of the changes and interventions we want to see from this government to support workers and businesses up and down the country. Whilst the recent backdrop shows inflation falling and…

Source

Labour urged to back progressive plan for the self-employed

Community — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 12:03:54 +0000

Progressive politicians should adopt a raft of new policies to create security and opportunity for the self-employed. The proposals are contained in a manifesto from the Fabian Society and two unions representing self-employed workers – Community and Prospect/Bectu. Working for you: a progressive manifesto for the self-employed calls on politicians to: The manifesto reveals that self…

Source

We need to end the scourge of late payments

Community — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 16:29:27 +0000

In the UK today, self-employed workers are owed £26 billion. Recent research shows the average self-employed worker on average are chasing £7,000 in late payments. We want to get that money back in our members’ pockets and back into local economies. In an April 2023 survey of 100 Community self-employed members, 84% told us that late payments had an impact on their finances. Just 16%

Source