Government proposals to change the rights of self-employed workers are deeply flawed and will disadvantage the very people they aim to protect, a Hove accountant has claimed.

Richard Simmons, a partner with Hacker Young, believes proposals from Trade Secretary Stephen Byers to give self-employed people the same rights as full-timers are ill-considered.

He said: "The Government is making these proposals in a bid to stop self-employed workers being exploited by businesses but it will have the opposite effect.

"Most businesses use self-employed workers on short-term contracts because they don't have to extend all the usual benefits such as sick leave, maternity leave and pensions to them. It is also easy to budget for these contracts because extra workers can be introduced as a short-term expedient to fit in with fluctuating demand.

"Everyone understands that such workers are dispensable. If the proposed changes are introduced, it will mean that businesses will have to be far more cautious about taking on self-employed people.

"They will be concerned about the additional expense associated with the extended rights and will be worried about being taken to an employment tribunal should the person feel they have not been treated like any other employee.

"The very people the Government is trying to protect will suffer because their contracts will start to dry-up or their rates will be hammered down.

"Self-employed people have, after all, elected to be self-employed and to benefit from the many advantage their status brings. I'd be interested to know if the Government consulted them about these changes."