Contractor trade association switches name from PCG to IPSE

Contractor accountants for doctors, IT, legal and the media alike will doubtless take an interest in the news that freelancer trade body PCG has now become IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed.

However, the association reassured contractors that the rebranding would not compromise its mission of assisting and representing independent professionals. Indeed, IPSE said that the name change would enable it to "better ... represent all professionals working in the UK's growing self-employed sector."

The organisation pointed out that as of July, according to recent Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures, a record 4.59 million of the UK's workers were self-employed, following a steady rise over the last decade in the number of people deciding to work for themselves.

IPSE added that the need for representation for these independent professionals was all the greater given predictions that the number of self-employed workers in Britain will outnumber those in public sector jobs by next year.

IPSE Chairman Julie Stewart, who was also chair of PCG, commented: "Individuals in business on their own account need representation and with our history fighting for freelancers and contractors, we are the right organisation to step up to this challenge.

"The way we work in the UK has changed almost beyond recognition in the last decade. Every month thousands of people are waking up to the benefits that come with starting a business and IPSE will be there to ensure they are supported and protected every step of the way."

Describing self-employment as "the zeitgeist", Stewart added that there had been 39 per cent growth in the sector since 2000, outstripping growth in traditional employment by 3 to 1 in the last decade. She said that her organisation's almost 22,000 members already made it the EU's largest organisation of independent professionals.

Stewart pledged that IPSE would "aim to add the backing of a sector almost five million strong to that number," adding that "Standing together as one, we are impossible to ignore."

However, the body also took the opportunity to further urge the Government to improve its offering to independent workers, suggesting that "While there's never been a better time to work independently, much can be done to create a level playing field for the people brave enough to go it alone.

"IPSE's aim is to make self-employment central to the economic debate in Government and to ensure policies are in place that make it easier to become self-employed and to be self-employed."

Concluding, Stewart pledged to continue to provide the body's members with "the same best-in-class services and knowledge base that we do today", supporting all freelancers, contractors, independent professionals and the self-employed across the economy, alongside more specific support for individual industry sectors.

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