The Independent Workforce: How HR Leaders Can Help Close the Self-Employment Support Gap on Both Sides of the Border

Self-employment is a significant and underexamined part of the all-island Irish workforce. A landmark study from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre, published on 29 May 2026, finds that 113,000 people in Northern Ireland are self-employed, representing 13% of all those in work. In the Republic, the Central Statistics Office records approximately 352,000 self-employed people, also around 13% of the workforce. This cohort of over 460,000 represents a challenge HR leaders are only beginning to address.

The study provides the most detailed picture of Northern Ireland’s self-employed workforce to date, with direct relevance for HR leaders on both sides of the border. The data reveals a workforce defined by independence, craft, and autonomy, yet facing structural challenges in income, protection, and development. Three priorities emerge: closing the income and hours gap, improving access to training and pensions, and designing support that reflects the diversity of this workforce.

The income and hours data is striking. Almost one quarter of self-employed workers put in 49 or more hours per week, compared with just 7% of employees. Yet median weekly earnings are lower: £414 (approximately €476) for self-employed men and £280 (approximately €322) for women, against employee medians of £571 (approximately €657) and £470 (approximately €541) respectively. This disparity signals a quality-of-work challenge as much as a business issue.

The demographics reveal further complexity. The self-employed population skews older, with almost half aged between 45 and 64. Men dominate in construction and agriculture; women are concentrated in health, personal services, and education. Self-employment is prevalent in rural areas, where it underpins local labour markets. Effective support must be sector-specific, moving beyond the assumption that self-employed individuals are growth-oriented entrepreneurs.

Lead researcher Dr Karen Bonner noted that the self-employed workforce values independence yet often faces significant financial and structural challenges, and that policy must support people not only to start but to sustain viable livelihoods. The report recommends training in financial management and taxation, simplified compliance processes, expanded mentoring and peer networks, and improved pension access. These are the building blocks HR and workforce professionals in Ireland should press government to provide.

Three actions will allow HR leaders to build on these findings. First, organisations with significant contractor or freelance engagement should extend development and wellbeing programmes to self-employed workers in their supply chain. Second, professional bodies should advocate for training modelled on Skillnet and Springboard+ in the Republic, adapted for the self-employed. Third, pension auto-enrolment in both jurisdictions should formally include self-employed workers.

The UUEPC study gives HR and workforce leaders across Ireland the evidence base to act. With 460,000 people self-employed on the island and income and protection gaps clearly documented, the case for targeted, all-island workforce policy has never been stronger.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)