Gig economy companies are taking advantage of the UK benefits system to support the people that work for them, a report by the work and pensions committee has said.

The committee, chaired by Labour MP Frank Field, called on the government to "close loopholes exploited by gig economy companies", and urged it to make companies like Uber, Amazon Flex, Deliveroo and Hermes categorise those who work for them as “workers” by default, rather than as self-employed.

The inquiry, which saw representatives from those companies hauled before MPs, explored the impact of the gig-economy upon the people that work in it, which sees companies signing up those who work for them as self-employed contractors, rather than as “workers”.

Those who are self-employed, however, are not entitled to rights that they would be as workers, including the minimum wage, sick pay, holiday pay, or a company pension.

The report found the benefits system was acting as a safety net, with ordinary taxpayers being made to “pick up the tab” for benefits that gig-economy companies should otherwise be providing.

“Increasingly, some companies are using self-employed workforces as cheap labour," the report said, "[while] excusing themselves from both responsibilities towards their workers and from substantial National Insurance liabilities, pension auto-enrolment responsibilities and the Apprenticeship Levy."

