IWGB recently signed up to support a national campaign to create parental pay equality for those classed as self-employed. Many of our members are currently mis-classified as self-employed or run self employed businesses as well as their ‘main’ job, so this is very relevant to our membership. The text of the letter is below. You can check out the website here, along with a petition – please sign it! http://www.parentalpayequality.org.uk. 

To:
The Right Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA
Dear Prime Minister
We are writing to ask you to change the eligibility criteria for Shared Parental Pay to include self-employed parents. This was raised in last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions by Tracy Brabin MP, and you promised to look into the matter further.
Self-employed parents and adopters are currently not eligible for Shared Parental Pay
(ShPP). The system of Maternity Allowance for the self-employed places the entire burden of childcare onto the mother, and offers no paternity or shared parental benefit for self-employed fathers or same-sex partners wanting to share childcare.
Self-employed mothers claiming Maternity Allowance have none of the legal protections
afforded to employees when they go on maternity leave, so the flexibility to share childcare and stop and start their maternity pay in order to maintain their business becomes even more crucial. We believe that in 2017 gender-equality is a fundamental right, not an optional extra reserved for those in traditional employment.
With the 4.8 million self-employed people in the UK (15% of the workforce) only expected to increase, the number of families affected is significant.

We would like to see ShPP implemented for all self-employed parents, as it would allow
self-employed men and women the flexibility to successfully run their businesses and care for their families. As ShPP is paid at the same rate as Maternity Allowance, and there would be the same number of qualifying maternities, we do not envisage there being a significant cost increase.
We look forward to your response

Yours,
Rushanara Ali MP (Bethnal Green and Bow)
David Arnold, Film Composer
Vick Bain, CEO, BASCA
Guy Berryman, Musician, Coldplay

Tracy Brabin MP, Shadow Minister for Early
Years (Batley and Spen)
Joeli Brearley, Founder, Pregnant Then Screwed

Kevin Brennan MP, Shadow Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Cardiff
West)
Christine Brown, Director of External Affairs, Help Musicians UK
Jonny Buckland, Musician, Coldplay
Tim Burton, Film Director
Will Champion, Musician, Coldplay
Tom Chaplin , Musician, Keane
Bambos Charalambous MP (Enfield, Southgate)
Eos Counsell, Musician, Bond
Cameron Craig, Executive Director, Music Producers Guild
Rosie Duffield MP (Canterbury)
Michael Dugher, CEO, UK Music
Anna Ehnold-Danailov, Director, Parents In Performing Arts
Derek Frey, Film Director
Paul Epworth, Music Producer
Olga FitzRoy, Founder, Parental Pay Equality
James Frith MP (Bury North)
Preet Gill MP (Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Elspeth Hanson, Musician, Bond
Ed Harcourt, Musician & Music Producer
Emma Hardy MP (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Ayesha Hazarika, Advisor to BPI and Political Commentator
Helen Hayes MP (Dulwich and West Norwood)

Sharon Hodgson MP, Shadow Minister for Public Health (Washington and Sunderland West )
Richard Hughes, Musician, Keane
Dr Rupa Huq MP Shadow Minister, Home
Office, Crime Prevention (Ealing Central and Acton)
Diana Johnson MP (Kingston upon Hull North)
Afzal Khan MP, Shadow Minister for Immigration (Manchester Gorton)
Kate Kinninmont MBE, Chief Executive, Women In Film & TV (UK)
Caroline Lucas MP, Co-Leader of the Green Party (Brighton Pavilion)
Shabana Mahmood MP (Birmingham, Ladywood)
Laura Marling, Musician
Chris Martin, Musician, Coldplay
Giles Martin, Music Producer
Seema Malhotra MP (Feltham and Heston)
Anna McMorrin MP (Cardiff North)
Catherine Morrissey, Women’s Officer, IWGB
Gerry Morrissey, General Secretary, BECTU
Christine Payne, General Secretary, Equity
Jess Phillips MP (Birmingham, Yardley)
Jo Platt MP (Leigh)
Lucy Powell MP (Manchester Central)
Jesse Quin – Musician – Keane / Mt.
Desolation / While The World Sleeps
Ellie Reeves MP (Lewisham West and Penge)

Cassie Raine, Director, Parents In Performing Arts
Faisal Rashid MP (Warrington South)
Tim Rice-Oxley – Musician – Keane / Mt. Desolation
Naz Shah MP (Bradford West)
Sam Smethers, CEO, Fawcett Society
Laura Smith MP (Crewe and Nantwich)
Alex Sobel MP (Leeds North West)
Jo Stevens MP (Cardiff Central)
Jo Swinson MP, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party & Foreign Affairs Spokesperson (East Dunbartonshire)

Alison Thewliss MP (Glasgow Central)
Horace Trubridge, General Secretary, Musicians Union
Chuka Umunna MP (Streatham)
Helen Walbey, Diversity Policy Unit Chair, Federation of Small Businesses
Stephen Warbeck, Film Composer
David Warburton MP, (Somerton and Frome)
Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (West Bromwich East)
Gay-Yee Westerhoff, Musician, Bond