2013 is ‘the year of the freelancer’

2013 has been declared the ‘Year of the Freelancer’ as the number of British workers ditching large corporates and going at it alone rockets.

According to figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the number of self-employed people in Britain increased by nearly 400,000 between 2008 and 2012, indicating that workers are shunning large businesses in favour of starting their own projects. The figures have been backed up by a report by Mitel which found that 81% of UK workers want to “escape the shackles” of conventional employment.

Freelancer tax specialist Nixon Williams has indicated that the figures suggest a move towards a new world of employment. Flexible working in a flexible working environment certainly seems the way forward for people in the UK who are tired of the conventional 9-5 office hours of a regular job.

Andrew Nixon, director at Nixon Williams, said: “It’s easy to see why more and more people are making the switch to self-employment.

“Running your own business offers the kind of fulfilment you simply can’t find through being another cog in the corporate machine and with freelancers seeing an unprecedented rise in earnings, there’s no better time to jump on the bandwagon.”

He went on to say that although the administration and accounting elements can seem daunting, there’s more help than ever for people choosing to work flexibly. Business centre services, for example, allow newly formed companies to have an office presence without the burdensome hassle of paying regular rent, purchasing equipment and forking out for the regular upkeep of space.

With all areas of the UK seeing an increase in the number of self-employed people it certainly does seem that the future will be based on working remotely and flexibly as workers look to escape from the shackles of corporate life.