Recruitment industry professionals have urged the government to do more to understand the challenges facing the UK’s flexible workforce and the industry that supports it.

Speaking at a Parasol roundtable, chaired by Recruiter editor DeeDee Doke, in London last week, Alan Nolan, senior partner at compliance advisory consultancy Aspire, said: “The flexible labour market is absolutely key to the dynamic economy, and the government is not listening to the problems that the temporary labour market has.” The UK’s 1.4m freelancers contribute around £21bn to the economy, according to figures published by PCG, the professional contractors group.

Nolan urged the government to listen more to people running businesses in the sector, and to enter into real dialogue. There was a big gulf in understanding, he said. “Everything that umbrellas do to comply with legislation is seen by the government as avoidance,” he added.

Chris Clowes, group head of sales at Parasol, added: “The government can legislate to the nth degree. I am not that bothered particularly. I am happy to be ultra-compliant and doing the right things.

Everything that umbrellas do to comply with legislation is seen by the government as avoidance

“But if I had only one wish it would be - just understand what the flexible workforce is. There is no understanding, and until that arrives we are going to be continually in these states of flux and confusion.”

Referring to the AWR (Agency Workers Regulations), Nolan said the government was trying to find a solution to a perceived problem told to it by people with an axe to grind, and by Europe.

David Chaplin, chief executive of ContractorCalculator, added that a survey carried out by his company showed that 92% of contractors didn’t want employment rights and weren’t interested in AWR.

Stephen Rookes, group commercial and legal director at NES, conceded that there was a need for the Bribery Act, because completely unethical practices were going on, such as umbrella companies offering recruitment consultants holidays to Hawaii. However, the problem was that everyone in the industry was being tarnished with the same brush.