Employment laws due to be implemented over the next four years will cost UK businesses a staggering £22.87bn, the British Chambers of Commerce Network (BCC) has revealed. In the South West alone the cost is likely to be £2.21bn.
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, published recently shows a raft of new employment legislation which is set to come into force between April 2011 and April 2015.
With seven major changes planned for 2011 alone, the BCC is urging the Government to match its rhetoric with reality – by starting the deregulation process and scrapping costly employment laws which are a burden on business, particularly smaller firms.
For example, the Government is proposing three changes to parental leave in the next four years. Every change, however small, will come at a price to business. The Government must get it right first time to avoid confusion and unnecessary costs.
Some of the most costly regulations in the pipeline are:
• 2011: Right to Request Time off to Train will have an annual recurring cost to business of £174.96m • 2011: Agency Workers Directive will have an annual recurring cost to business of £1,548m • 2012: Pensions Reform will have an annual recurring cost to business of £4,526m
Commenting on the research, Paul Briggs, chief executive, Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group said: “The Government claims business growth is top of the agenda, yet UK firms will be hit with huge costs once these new regulations come into force. Thames Valley companies cannot generate growth and create jobs when they are facing a huge bill, just to implement new employment legislation. Unless the Government reduces this kind of red tape, we will continue to have high levels of unemployment and could end up derailing the recovery.
“These new regulations, such as changes to the right to request flexible working, paternity leave, and the abolition of the default retirement age, will leave employers confused, and distract them from growing their business. The Government must use the upcoming Budget to act on its promises and deliver concrete reductions to the regulatory burden faced by the private sector.”
