IPSE Magazine

[jamesbrown]

Their core purpose and their core membership has not changed in the slightest.

It will. In my view, this is absolutely scope creep and will dilute the representation of contractors. I can see the business reasons for expanding membership to the self-employed but there are some fundamental differences, not only in terms of the significance of the existing legislation for the different groups (e.g. IR35) but, more importantly, in the market composition (see the testimony to the recent House of Lords review, for example, where the distinction between highly-skilled, highly-paid contractors operating through Ltd companies and low-skilled, poorly paid, self-employed workers was an ongoing theme). FWIW, I will continue membership, purely for the concrete benefits in terms of the various insurances/legal representation offered (which make the membership fee competitive) and not for reasons of professional representation. If this balance of costs vs. concrete benefits changes significantly, I wouldn't hesitate to leave, and I expect this is a widely shared view among contractors.

[tractor]

...

^^^
This is my concern.

I also think that we should end this thread in public. I have no ill-will toward the PCG IPSE and wouldn't want to damage its reputation. As I said upthread, I am considering whether to renew or not based on their change of stance - I haven't made a decision yet.

I agree. Anyone who is a member and has concerns should be voicing them on the IPSE fora where they stand a chance of actually gaining some momentum, if indeed there is any to be gained.

[DiscoStu]

I agree. Anyone who is a member and has concerns should be voicing them on the IPSE fora where they stand a chance of actually gaining some momentum, if indeed there is any to be gained.

Either that or they'll get slagged off by a director who shall remain nameless for not contributing before

[tractor]

...

Either that or they'll get slagged off by a director who shall remain nameless for not contributing before

One has to persist.....the point being that if you say nothing, you cannot complain when no-one listens.

[malvolio]

One has to persist.....the point being that if you say nothing, you cannot complain when no-one listens.

Precisely...

Although to be fair that director's (rather opaque!) point was more about not offering an alternative rather than simply opposing the proposal on the table. I also note the core argument here seems to be that IPSE may change direction totally at some indeterminate point in the future. OK...

[psychocandy]

Well, FWIW I dont read the mag and rarely go on the site.

BUT, its a no brainer in my opinion for the IR35 legal cover.

It was a toss up between this and QDOS (which is also very good, as are QDOS in general) but this one slightly met my needs better.

[TheFaQQer]

Although to be fair that director's (rather opaque!) point was more about not offering an alternative rather than simply opposing the proposal on the table.

That is absolutely not correct. Your comment suggests that there was initial criticism, to which the director was responding. That was categorically not the case, any attempt to pretend that there was is an attempt to re-write history.

The question was asked in the IPSE forums "Were the CC involved in the name change?". That question was answered within a handful of posts by three different people (yourself included) which answered the question clearly. At the time, you (and others) were thanked for your responses.

The subtext of the question was then questioned by a different board member, to which the response was that there was no subtext, it was a question which I wanted answering.

The thread continued, with input and comment from a few people, including a post from a board member which said (and I paraphrase here) "you haven't been on the forums in the seven years you've been a member, so it's a bit late to whine about a change that we didn't tell you about after it has happened".

When it was mentioned by another member that such statements might convey a message that the CC and Board regard the absence from the IPSE forums as an indication that the member should pay up and shut up (again, I paraphrase), this suggestion was dismissed by the IPSE chair as just a matter of posting style which people had misunderstood.

There were more choice statements made, but I don't think it would be beneficial to quote or refer to them here. IPSE members can read them in the forums there, if they want. However, if you want to discuss the threads further, you know where I am.

[Scruff]

You can elect not to receive it, if you bother to look. Or, just as a mad idea, you could go to their site. Or do you expect Tesco to post their online shopping service on the LIDL website? It's available as a PDF anyway, but you can't leave PDFs lying around the office...


Perhaps if you read it you would find out why

Mal, no need to get so defensive? I do expect to be able to find out where I can elect not to receive it, but for the love of me, I can't?

If you would care to point out where exactly on the site I can elect to not receive a mailed copy, I would be most grateful? I can't even find out where the forum is...

[TheFaQQer]

One has to persist.....the point being that if you say nothing, you cannot complain when no-one listens.

Of course, one can only comment on something once you know that it is happening If you don't know what is afoot (which in some cases you need to be on the board to do), then you can only comment after the fact, and then be criticised for commenting afterwards

[TheFaQQer]

Mal, no need to get so defensive? I do expect to be able to find out where I can elect not to receive it, but for the love of me, I can't?

If you would care to point out where exactly on the site I can elect to not receive a mailed copy, I would be most grateful? I can't even find out where the forum is...

Digital copies of Freelancing Matters are at Issue 45 | IPSE (Menu > About Us > Freelancing Matters)

Forums are at IPSE Community

I don't know how you opt out of the paper copy - I was a member for years before I even found out about the magazine because it never arrived.