Cambridge Satchel Company boss warns David Cameron self-employed feel like 'second-class citizens'

Self-employed workers in the UK feel like they are "second-class citizens" in certain areas of the economy, according to the boss and founder of the Cambridge Satchel Company. Julie Deane, who was tasked by David Cameron in 2015 to produce an independent review into the area, spoke to IBTimes UK about her investigation's findings.

The entrepreneur has made a number of recommendations to the Conservative government on what additional support can be provided to the increasing number of self-employed people, who now make up around 14.8% or 4.8 million of the UK's 31 million strong workforce.

Deane, who has seen her leather goods firm grow into a multi-million pound business, has urged the prime minister to try and make it more of a level-playing field for self-employed people. "One very, very clear message that was coming through was that in certain areas they feel almost like second-class citizens," the businesswoman said.

"They feel that the sector is treated as if it is a sector that doesn't contribute as much or maybe they should be growing and scaling, whereas a lot of them are very happy being sole-traders or one person companies."

In particular, Deane wants to see more flexible financial instruments for self-employed people as the workers may find it harder to secure mortgages, insurance and pension coverage than employees.

The Cambridge Satchel Company creator has also urged ministers to consider enhancing the level of Maternity Allowance provided to the self-employed in the first six weeks – bringing Maternity Allowance in line with Statutory Maternity Pay.

"Let's have equality because the lines between employment and self-employment aren't as clear as they used to be," Deane added. But as for taxation - a topic hitting headlines after Google's controversial tax settlement - the issue was not within the scope of the review.

However, Deane told IBTimes UK that the topic was raised often by the self-employed people she spoke to and she has passed a separate document with their concerns to HM Revenue and Customs. Cameron welcomed Deane's review and promised to "carefully consider" her recommendations.

"Up and down the country there are millions of hard-working self-employed people and I want to make sure they get all the support and security they need to achieve their ambitions," the prime minister said.

"We're already helping with tax allowances, start-up support and with our ongoing commitment to cutting red tape, and given Julie Deane's experience of starting her own successful business, she was the ideal person to shine more light on the needs of self-employed people.

"I'd like to thank Julie for her hard work in delivering this review, and her wide-ranging recommendations will be carefully considered."

Mike Cherry, policy director for the Federation of Small Businesses, also welcomed the investigation and urged the government to "take on board" Deane's proposals.

"Particularly important are the recommendations to bring Maternity Allowance into line with Statutory Maternity pay and those relating to access to more flexible finance solutions. For too long the self-employed have been frozen out of getting fair access to mortgages, insurance products and pensions," he added.