Member

160: After Clause 150, insert the following new Clause— “Independent Freelance Commissioner(1) There is to be an office known as the Office of the Freelance Commissioner.(2) The Office in subsection (1) must be established by the Secretary of State by regulations three months after the day on which this Act is passed.(3) The Office of the Freelance Commissioner will be led by an individual appointed by the Secretary of State titled the “Independent Freelance Commissioner”.(4) The role in subsection (3) is referred to as the “Freelance Commissioner”.(5) The Freelance Commissioner may appoint staff to the Office of the Freelance Commissioner they consider necessary for assisting in the exercise of their functions in subsection (6).(6) The Freelance Commissioner is responsible for—(a) representing the interests of freelance workers in the application of employment rights under this Act,(b) ensuring fair treatment of freelance workers across different sectors,(c) regularly engaging with sectors with high proportions of freelance workers about the application of provisions of this Act,(d) gathering and analysing data about the freelance workforce,(e) identifying issues and finding solutions to challenges faced by freelance workers as a result of provisions in this Act, and(f) ensuring that the duty to consider the freelancer workforce under section (Duty to consider freelancer workforce) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is discharged properly.(7) The Freelance Commissioner must publish an annual report on the discharge of their functions set out in subsection (6) and lay this report before Parliament.(8) For this purpose of this section, a freelancer is defined according to section (definition of “freelancer”) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.(9) Regulations under this section are subject to the negative resolution procedure.”Member’s explanatory statement This amendment establishes the office of the Freelance Commissioner and makes provisions for relevant duties and responsibilities.