Status critical: Why employment status reform is essential to making work pay

Status critical
By Luke Raikes , Morgan Bestwick
Published 16 August 2026
Topics Employment

Employment status is high stakes. An individual’s employment status determines their rights and protections at work, as well as the requirements employers and engagers can make of their time. Yet identifying whether someone is an employee, ‘worker’ or self-employed is now a major challenge in the UK labour market.

With the Employment Rights Act set to shift the balance of power further towards labour, longstanding questions around employment status are likely to become more important than ever.

Drawing on three focus groups with freelancers, gig economy workers and other self-employed people, Luke Raikes and Morgan Bestwick investigate the specific problems with employment status and set out a roadmap for addressing the most pressing issues facing workers today.

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Luke Raikes

Luke Raikes is the Fabian Society's deputy general secretary and research director.

@lukeraikes

Morgan Bestwick

Morgan Bestwick was a policy adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation when this report was produced. She is now a senior researcher in the House of Commons.

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