More contractors found to be working from home

New research has revealed that there are currently 2.5 million business owners across the UK operating from home, which represents 52% of the total number of UK small businesses.

The report, carried out by Direct Line for Business (DL4B), found that these home business owners represent 8% of the UK’s total workforce, with the South East and South West coming out as being the areas with the most businesses being run from home.

According to the findings, home business owners in London account for 9% of the total four million workforce and more than a quarter of Herefordshire’s 92,000 total workforce is a home business owner.

Interestingly, the DL4B found that with regards to gender, it is men who are more than twice as likely as women to run their own business from home – 1.7 million men are home business owners, compared to 818,000 women.

Jazz Gakhal, Head of Direct Line for Business commented on the findings, “Self-employment has been on the rise for several years and our research now shows that a great number of these people work for themselves from home.

“Once an individual has taken the decision to set up a home business, it is crucial that he/she fully appreciates their responsibilities as a business owner and ensures that adequate protection is in place should anything happen to threaten what he / she has worked so hard to achieve.”

Working from home as a contractor? Read our comprehensive contractors guide to company expenses for information on what you can claim when working from home, how expenses affect your tax bill and what is classed as a valid business expense.

Considering setting up your own Limited company? You can form your Limited company online by clicking here – it takes just 5 minutes to complete with your company set up within a few hours. If you have any further questions please contact our new business team on 01442 275789 or email newbusiness@sjdaccountancy.com.

For all other news please visit our Contractor News hub, or why not join us on Facebook and follow us on Google+ for all the latest contractor news, views, debates and competitions.