New proposals aimed at clamping down on bogus self-employment practices in Ireland are to be considered by the government this week, reports The Irish Times. Bogus self-employment arrangements are where workers are forced by an employer to declare themselves self-employed rather than employees. Unions have said that these practices are costing the state hundreds of millions of euros in lost revenue and can result in workers being denied key rights and benefits. The proposal includes the appointment of a new team to be put in place to investigate alleged incidents of bogus self-employment in large companies, as well as to deal with complex cases. Furthermore, 200 social welfare inspectors are to be retrained to carry out employment investigations as soon as possible. The proposals could also potentially look at new legislation that would be introduced to try to prevent victimisation of workers who seek an official determination of whether they are in fact genuinely self-employed. It will also look into legislation to permit deciding officers to make determinations on the employment status of groups or classes of workers who are engaged and operate on identical terms and conditions.