The ‘gig economy’ is a phrase which entered our lexicon nearly five years ago. Previously only used to describe a band’s live show or as a word for some short-lived job landed, whether ‘a nice little gig’ or ‘a tough gig’, the term is now used to describe entire sectors of our workforce.
A strength of the gig-economy is its sense of self-determination; a freedom from the bonds of permanent employment, and a sense of people stitching together their own destinies, achieving the perfect work-life balance
And the gig economy is here to stay. A recent study by the TUC seems to demonstrate that the UK’s gig economy workforce has doubled since 2016. Although the good people at fullfact.org have shown that the statistic might not be as eye-catching as it first seems (hello lies, damned lies and statistics!), it’s certainly true that the way people are engaging with their part time work has changed.
The survey shows that nearly 1 in 10 (9.6%) of working-age adults surveyed now work via gig economy platforms at least once a week, compared to around 1 in 20 (4.7%) in 2016. Most gig workers don’t do this kind of work full time. Instead, they are engaged in “platform work” to supplement other forms of income, reflecting that UK workers who are patching together a living from multiple different sources.
The term “platform work” covers a wide range of jobs that are found via a website or app – like Uber, Handy, Deliveroo or Upwork – and accessed using a laptop, smartphone or other connected device.
What all these people have in common is that they’re likely to need to organise their own tax affairs. As well as ‘being your own boss’ in the gig economy, you’re also your own HR and accounting departments. That’s where untied comes in – not just with one product, but in due course with more that are tailored just to you.
By understanding and automating bank transactions, helping users make informed decisions about what allowances to claim and providing advice on things like pensions, untied is here to help platform workers and gig economy workers streamline their tax affairs, leaving users free to fit their paid work around caring commitments, travel ambitions, voluntary work, passions and interests.
We’re looking for a group of enthusiastic users to work closely with us, test-drive our product and give honest feedback.
Sign up here and make tax history!
