Concerns raised over any changes proposed by Labour party that could lead to increased costs for the industry

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A future Labour government should be cautious in trying to tackle bogus self-employment in construction, industry bodies have said.

The Labour Party announced a review of the practice last September with shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves writing to industry bodies for their views last December. Reeves called bogus self-employment - wrongly treating workers who behave as full-time employees as self-employed - a 鈥渂light for many workers and beneficial to those intent on avoiding tax鈥�.

But in a letter responding to Reeves, director of the UK Contractors Group Stephen Ratcliffe has warned that any legislative changes would lead to 鈥渋ncreased business costs鈥� which could not be absorbed by the industry, given its margins. Ratcliffe said a 鈥渕ore effective鈥� tax scheme could be devised to drive out bogus self-employment.

But he added: 鈥淎ny changes are likely to put pressure on government policies - for example, financing the current public sector construction pipeline within reduced resources and reducing the public sector cost of construction by 20% in the lifetime of this parliament.鈥�

The Federation of Master Builders also expressed fears over the costs of meeting new employment or tax laws.

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