Ed Balls promises crackdown on bogus self-employed This can mean that the worker loses employment rights which come with being an employee, such as sick pay, overtime and employment protections. It is also a form of tax avoidance because it reduces the tax and national insurance which is paid to HMRC, as the national insurance rate is lower for the self-employed. Bogus self-employment is a particular problem in construction because of the particular working patterns of the sector, with workers employed for particular projects and regularly moving location. According to Treasury figures, there are around 300,000 workers in bogus self-employment in construction. The cost to the Exchequer is estimated to be around £350 million. In a speech to the TUC Congress in Brighton, Mr Balls will warn that George Osborne, the Chancellor, is presiding over a "lost decade" of stagnant economic growth. He will warn that Britain is just one of two G20 countries in recession and renew his call for a new plan for growth. "We now risk a lost decade of slow growth and high unemployment which will do long-term damage," he will say. Living standards face the biggest squeeze since the 1920s with prices rising faster than wages. Unemployment is high, with long-term youth unemployment rising month by month.