Debt Recovery for self-employed has never had a more important role to play

The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) has warned of the impact of late payment on the self-employed freelancers across the UK. The IPSE has highlighted that the problem is bigger than ever today and worsening.

Its thought that the average amount owed to them rose in 2022 to circa £5230.00 and unpaid invoices are crippling the finances of many self-employed workers, as much as 1 in 5.

Late payment is challenging for every business and very often self-employed freelancers are reliant on every invoice being paid on time, for their day to day living expenses.

The late payment crisis is so bad for some that they have little or no money to cover basic living expenses and it’s reported that late payment crisis is causing mental health issues for many self-employed people. According to reports from the IPSE, 49% of self-employed freelancers have felt anxiety due to unpaid invoices. Many have also admitted that the situation has affected their productivity and a number also said they have lost sleep worrying over unpaid invoices and questioned their careers.

Restricting the problem of non-payment of invoices has always been a challenge for the self-employed and small businesses. Despite previous government reforms to try to prevent late payment, such as the prompt payment code, the situation appears to be worsening. The average amount owed to self-employed freelancers has climbed to a new high

Latest research from IPSE shows that 35% of self-employed workers have not been paid on time within the last year and nearly 1 in 5 self-employed freelancers say they have waited well over three months to get paid on some jobs.

IPSE is calling upon the government to step up and improve previous reforms by making businesses more accountable for non-payment and penalising them.  In the USA, there is a ‘freelance isn’t free’ law. This was introduced in 2017 and forces companies to pay self-employed workers within 30 days.  The IPSE claims that the UK needs to implement its own version to protect freelancers and self-employed workers.

If you are a small business or self-employed freelancer and have not been paid on time, please contact a member of our dedicated debt recovery team for help. Many clients turn to us to ensure they get paid and whilst there may be a small cost, this is viewed by most as an essential strategy to ensure they get invoices paid on time.

If you have any queries about debt recovery please contact Allison Thompson on 0191 2267878.