Julia is a TEDx speaker, podcaster, and campaigner with a passion for the rights of all independent workers. Like many people, the pandemic made Julia re-evaluate her purpose, and she founded IWORK to support and champion the UK’s army of temps, agency workers, gig economy workers, contractors and the self-employed.
Before setting up IWORK Julia single-handedly grew FCSA, a compliance standard for accountants and umbrellas, from an unheard-of niche organisation to becoming ubiquitous within the recruitment supply chain. Here she led unprecedented growth, successfully raising the profile of FCSA and it’s influence within the government, recruitment sector and amongst employers.
During covid it became apparent that many people were losing their jobs and needed to work differently, and were turning to self-employment, temping, side hustles or other forms of contingent work. This meant a new crop of people vulnerable to exploitation simply due to their lack of knowledge. Julia couldn’t simply stand by and watch this unfold, so in July 2020 she launched IWORK and her mission to empower all independent workers so they get the fair deal they deserve.
Julia is a well known authority in the contracting sector, having been an expert panellist on TV and radio programmes, commentator on relevant news stories, and has many articles published in national and trade press. She has an in-depth understanding of the many complex issues affecting independent workers, which coupled with her belief in justice and equality make her a force to be reckoned with! Julia’s common sense approach, balance and fairness mean that she is often called on to contribute to government policy development, including as an expert witness at various House of Lords inquiries over the years.
More recently, Julia has become increasingly frustrated with the continued scourge of dubious practices within the umbrella sector, exploiting workers yet no-one is doing anything about it! Wrongdoings have been exposed at seeming ‘compliant’ umbrellas which hold external accreditations, yet disappointingly these umbrellas are not being properly challenged. Clearly action is needed to ensure workers are protected.
This led to Julia taking on the role of CEO at PayePass in May 2023. By forensically scrutinising everything relating to worker payments PayePass protects the supply chain from the financial risks of tax avoidance, tax evasion, mini-umbrella company fraud, payroll skimming, and holiday pay misconduct.
Julia says “it seems that misconduct is on the increase and that it’s going unchallenged. I have been waiting for others to flex their muscles and take action, but nothing seems to be happening. I can’t continue to sit back and watch an industry I love being increasingly vilified and untrusted. That’s why I am taking matters into my own hands to raise standards and clean up the sector once and for all!”
Julia is an accomplished business leader having landed her first CEO role aged just 31. She has experienced many ups and downs in her career including: the shock of starting a CEO role at an organisation with no financial viability; a dream job that was actually anything but; and transforming a business from obscurity to ubiquity. Advocacy and fighting for the underdog have been common themes throughout Julia’s career as she cares about ensuring fairness for everyone.
Good news for gig workers throughout the EU as the Platform Work Directive has finally been adopted by the European Parliament with 554 votes in favour, 56 against, and 24 abstentions. It has been a long arduous process for the EU
Yesterday (18 April 2024) was TAM Day, which you can be forgiven for not knowing is “Tax Administration and Maintenance Day”, when the government publishes details on how they plan to achieve their budget announcements. This meant we finally got
A report published by IOSH highlights that outdated Health & Safety legislation has not kept pace with modern working practices, leaving the ever-growing gig economy to fend for themselves. Gig Economy Work Is Unhealthy IOSH surveyed over 1,000 gig workers,
Contract and temporary staff hires have increased significantly in 2024 compared to the end of last year, according to data from hiring platform Totaljobs. Their latest report focuses on the impact of skills shortages and what businesses are doing to
HMRC has updated (11/04/24) their published list of named tax avoidance schemes and promoters with the addition of four more companies: Acacia Management Services Limited Alphasaint Limited Ultra Employment Limited Worx 4U Limited.Abchurch Ltd They have also removed details of
Regular readers will know the shocking statistic that 10 suicides have been directly linked to HMRC’s abhorrent Loan Charge policy. In addition, there has also been a number of attempted suicides, two of whom have now decided to speak out
Good news for temporary workers in the UK – there is now no excuse for recruitment agencies and umbrellas to with-hold your holiday pay! Regular readers will be aware of the legal loophole that allows immoral agencies and umbrella companies
Not only does HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool ignore important employment status criteria, it is not keeping pace with applicable case law either! In a worrying development, HMRC have confirmed that they have not updated the IT
The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee overwhelmingly gave its backing to the EU Platform Work Directive agreement last week. Out of 40 MEPs on the committee, 37 voted in favour, three against. This now paves the way for