We really need to review "employment" as a legal concept. Most of these systems were set up post ww2. They worked ok when everyone was working full time as employees of single large companies, in factories where their time was directed.
It no longer works in on demand economies, with variable hours and self employment and people working multiple jobs.
> It no longer works in on demand economies, with variable hours and self employment and people working multiple jobs.
Why? There are people who work variable hours, self employment and working multiple jobs. They're called freelancers. You can freelance in most countries, and it's not a problem. What is a problem is Uber and gig economy companies saying that the people that work for them are "actually freelancers" as an excuse to offload costs onto the workers, who don't get any of the advantages of being a freelance (they always work under the conditions for these companies, with no power of negotiation.
* In the uk, you and your employer pay national insurance if you earn over a given limit. Thats fine for an uber driver who becomes an employee instead of self employed.
* but your employer only pays if you earn over X. So employers have a big incentive to stop you earning over thst limit. You see this in the US with workers being kept at 1h less than full time to avoid paying for health insurance. So now we're limiting the income of the people we're meant to be helping!?
* plus in the uk, your contributions only count if you do a full year. Thats fine if you're a full time employee, you work 52 weeks (and when you're on holiday you're paid and that includes NI contributions), and your wage is the same every week. But if an uber driver misses a pay period or has a slow month, he paid a lot of NI and gets no credit for it. Nor can he claim it back.
* plus now, as an employee, your expenses are not tax deductable.
Im not being anti-worker. But our current systems arent fit for purpose anymore. We need to review them. Thats benefits, workers rights and the tax code.
Why dont we just charge a percentage of earnings and then base unemployment payout on that?
Because in 1950 someone dreamt up this system and designed it so we could support men working full time in factories and to operate using just pen and paper but cause computers didnt exist. 70 years later, we have the same system with 101 bits of crap bolted on. And it isnt working.
None of the issues you mentioned are fundamental to the employee system. I am not familiar with the issues you mentioned in Spain, for example.
You can see issues in any system. But that doesn't mean it isn't working fundamentally. I'm all for reviewing and improving the system, adapting it for new jobs and ways of working. But those changes cannot be an excuse to slash benefits and worker rights, which is what Uber has been doing for years.
It no longer works in on demand economies, with variable hours and self employment and people working multiple jobs.