Andy Burnham, the man with the mayoral chain and a mission, is being told to crack down on gig economy firms that have turned 'self-employment' into a legal loophole the size of a delivery rider's pannier. A joint report from the Fabian Society and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation claims some 4 million workers - hairdressers, personal trainers, delivery drivers, and other gig economy souls - are being denied basic rights like parental leave, redundancy pay, and protection against unfair dismissal.

The report, which reads like a polite but firm letter to the government, urges the Fair Work Agency - a shiny new watchdog launched in April - to use its civil proceedings powers to prosecute companies suspected of 'widespread bogus self-employment'. Because if it looks like a job and quacks like a job, it should probably be treated as one, not as a 'side hustle' with zero safety net.

Britain's employment laws are a peculiar beast, featuring three classifications: full employees (who get rights), the self-employed (who get freedom and a tax form), and the intermediate 'worker' status - a sort of legal limbo where many gig economy folks find themselves, with fewer rights than a full employee but more obligations than a hermit. The report suggests as many as 4 million people are stuck in this gap, many hired this way deliberately to dodge employment rights.

Labour had once promised to create a single 'worker' status for all but the genuinely self-employed, but then the 2024 general election happened, and suddenly the party was rowing back faster than a kayaker in a storm, fearing Conservative attacks on its business credentials. Once in power, the single status didn't make it into Labour's employment rights shake-up, and the promised consultation on 'moving towards a single status of worker' has yet to materialise - a bit like the ghost of a policy that never quite showed up to the party.

Meanwhile, Labour faces intense lobbying from business over its sweeping Employment Rights Act, which includes a ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts and day-one rights to statutory sick pay. Official government analysis last week showed the changes would support economic growth and offer more protections, but at a cost to businesses of an estimated £350m to £2.9bn - a range so wide it might as well be a guess.

In his first week in office, Burnham told business leaders he was determined to push ahead with the biggest shake-up of employment rights in a generation. But the Fabian Society and Joseph Rowntree Foundation say that without addressing employment status, gig workers won't benefit from these upgraded protections. The report calls for the burden of proof on employment status to shift from the worker to the employer, so people don't have to fight lengthy legal battles just to get the minimum wage and holiday pay.

Luke Raikes, the Fabian Society's deputy general secretary, put it succinctly: 'The government must ensure those who play fast and loose with employment law can't undercut the majority of good employers who play by the rules. If it looks like employment then employers should be treating people as employees by default and should expect enforcement action if they aren't complying. Insecure workers should not have to take on a company's lawyers - sometimes all the way to the supreme court - just to establish the basic rights they are owed.'

A government spokesperson, ever the diplomat, said: 'Our plan to make work pay will boost secure employment, improve job security and deliver stronger, higher living standards. The Fair Work Agency is already helping workers get the rights they are entitled to. We've committed to consult on employment status and will consider how the Fair Work Agency can use its civil proceedings power alongside that.' In other words: we hear you, we're thinking about it, and please don't hold your breath.