The call follows comments made to the BBC by the inquiry’s head Matthew Taylor, who revealed he had uncovered evidence of businesses using self-employment laws to avoid tax, adding he wanted to see a new standard of "fair and decent" work that both the public and private sector could sign up to.

Taylor is due to report back to Prime Minister Theresa May this summer.

In response to Taylor’s comments, in a statement released this morning, the FCSA, a trade association for professional employment service providers, said while it supports any rules that stamp out false self-employment and exploitation by unscrupulous employers, it urges policy makers to recognise and not penalise the UK’s 4.8m self-employed workers.

The FCSA also warned about the knock-on effect of policy changes intended to tackle one particular group across a large range of professions and sectors.

Responding to Taylor’s comments, FCSA CEO Julia Kermode said: “I would urge the government to wait for the full outcome of Matthew Taylor’s review that is due in the summer and avoid any kneejerk reaction that would once again result in rushing through legislation that could have serious negative implications.

“We have seen a raft of recent tax policy changes that have penalised the self-employed, leaving them financially worse off and under-valued by a government that claims to recognise the economic importance of the flexible workforce.

“Current policy direction seems to imply that permanent employment is somehow preferable to other ways of working which contradicts the current face of the labour market and the choices that people are making.

“It is widely acknowledged that the flexible workforce has played an important role in the UK’s economic recovery to date so I would appeal to the policy makers not to penalise the workers and the businesses that have been the financial backbone of the UK in recent years.”