One of the South West’s biggest business organisations has condemned new employment laws due to come into force, which it says will cost the region’s firms more than £2billion.
Research by British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed that new laws will cost UK businesses a staggering £22.87bn, while businesses in the South West will be hit with a £2.21bn bill.
Despite a pledge from the Government to tackle the burden of red tape, which is stifling job creation and growth in the UK, the BCC’s Employment Timeline shows a raft of new employment legislation set to come into force between April 2011 and April 2015, including:
- Right to request time off to train
- Removal of the default retirement age
- Additional paternity leave and pay
- Non-EU migrant cap
These and more are due to impact on business in 2011, and more changes are planned for the following three years.
Commenting on the findings, Tessa Coombes, Director of Policy at GWE Business West said:Â ”Businesses across Bristol, Bath, Swindon and Gloucestershire are increasingly concerned that Government rhetoric is not being matched by action and real change that benefits business. Instead what we are seeing is more red tape and more barriers to business growth.
“The Government claims business growth is at the top of their agenda, yet the companies we represent will be hit with huge costs once these new regulations come into force. How can companies be expected to generate growth and create jobs when they are facing a massive bill, just to implement new employment legislation?
“We want to see some real change that benefits business with identifiable reductions to the regulatory burden faced by the private sector and an end to this constant tinkering with employment law which merely serves to confuse and distract employers from growing their business and creating jobs.”
Well done Business West. Don't moan about the process regarding temporary workers as the current process of using agencies that are interested in milking everyone for every last penny crazy regardless of changes to employment law.
Stop moaning and deal with the issues that everyone else has to deal with instead of expecting pity.
I bet the ancestors of these people whined when they were no longer allowed to send children down the mines.
Correction – the AWD is due to be implemented on 01 October 2011. Apologies for the typo!
Working in the recruitment and resourcing industry, we absolutely agree with this.
With the advent of the Agency Workers Directive taking hold on 01 October 2010, those employers having temporary workers on site for 12 weeks or longer may find it more of an administrative burden than they first bargained for.
Based on some statistics produced by the Government on the cost of the AWD to businesses, it is likely that the cost of implementing this legislation alone will be significant.
The explanatory memorandum says: 'Beyond the administrative burden…employment businesses will incur the costs associated with changes to IT systems, staff training and in some ases, recourse to expert lega advice.'
Those costs can only be minimised through clear guidance and simple implementation procedures.