Yep - When I was self employed I used my own limited company, paid myself a salary that was not subject to tax and split the dividends between myself and my non-earning wife and son. Saved a fortune in tax, quite legally, and the accountants fees were a legitimate business expense. That was in the days I was a freelance contractor.

Now I have decided to spend the few years before retirement in a more secure, permanent role I am limited to PAYE and my accountant, to his credit (pun intended), advised that there was little or nothing he could do to save me money. Most people in the country are PAYE employees. Maybe if they did become freelance they could save money but it is a huge risk that many cannot afford to take.

On the other side of the equation we have the employers, such as mine, who will not use contract staff where there is intellectual property that belongs to them. They will not risk using contract staff, who can leave at a moments notice and owe no loyalty, where it would leave the business vulnerable to lose that expertise.

Put everybody on zero hours contracts and everyone will benefit? Hardly.