With governments slashing expenditure and the Deputy Prime Minister saying that “Private sector workers have already seen final salary schemes close, while returns from defined contribution schemes fall. So can we really ask them to keep paying their taxes into unreformed gold-plated public sector pension pots? It's not just unfair – it's not affordable”, the news that the new EU Directive on self-employed workers are to have improved social protection rights is unlikely to be well received.
The Directive improves the protection of females self-employed workers by allowing maternity leave for the self-employed and ‘assisting spouses’.
The changes must be introduced into national law within two years of its’ formal adoption, which is expected to happen on 24 June.
See the EU news release.