Contractors across the UK will be celebrating flexible working on Thursday 12th November with the return of National Freelancers Day, the annual flagship event hosted by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE).
The event is now into its seventh year, and will culminate in a dinner and awards ceremony at the Hospital Club in London’s Convent Garden, in a celebration of the exceptional work that the UK’s self-employed have delivered this year.
“It’s not always easy to go it alone; freelancing is hard work and brings challenges conventional employees don’t face,” IPSE acknowledges.
“But the costs are far outweighed by the benefits, and the number of people realising this has skyrocketed over the last few years. That’s why IPSE created National Freelancers’ Day, a way of celebrating all the people who’ve embraced the freelance way of working and started their own business.”
After a successful debut competition last year, IPSE will again be acknowledging the UK’s best and brightest contractors as its Freelancer Awards return. This year, IPSE will be running separate awards.
The ‘Aspire Award’ will highlight the contribution made by this years’ stand-out up-and-coming contractor aged 23 or under, whilst the ‘Inspire Award’ will grant recognition to the most deserving established business owner aged 24 or over.
One winner and two runners-up will be selected from a pool of 15 finalists in either category, with cash sums and a range of business support packages on offer.
“The contractor workforce has continued to grow in both size and scope over the past year,” notes ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. “Confidence has taken a knock lately, as a result of some less-than-accommodating Government measures, so it’s a massive morale boost when we have events such as this to show the contingent workforce that they are valued.
“National Freelancers Day does an excellent job of affirming within the public conscience the contribution of a sector whose good work often slips under the radar,” Chaplin adds.
The ceremony will be hosted by comedienne Shappi Korshandi, who is known for her appearances on the BBC’s ‘Have I Got News For You?’ and ‘QI’, while CEO of HeadcastLab Chris Chapman will be delivering the keynote speech.
This year, contractors can engage via Twitter and Instagram by using the hashtag #SelfieEmployed. Contractors are encouraged to take a photo which best reflects what they love most about contracting, to post on either social media site, accompanied by the hashtag. The best photo will win an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet.
Follow all the action from National Freelancers Day 2015 on Twitter.