Businesses brace for costs as new workers’ rights kick in Retail Businesses across Britain are bracing for a sharp hike in costs and hiring struggles as the government’s new workers’ rights laws begin to take effect this week. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a leading trade body, said the Employment Rights Act risks adding to an onslaught of rising cost pressures facing firms, including wage hikes [...]
Small businesses warn April cost hikes could force closures Business Small businesses have warned they are heading into an “unprecedented cost crunch” in April, with over a third of employers planning to cut output or shut down as higher taxes and bills take effect. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has written to Rachel Reeves, warning that a combination of rising energy standing charges, business rate increases, [...]
How day one sick pay will change hiring behaviour Opinion Few employers disagree with the objectives of day one sick pay, but there could be adverse impacts on hiring behaviour, writes George Reed.
Tory MP takes chainsaw to workers’ rights package in new video August 18, 2025 The shadow secretary of state for business has channelled Argentina’s red-tape-slashing President, Javier Milei, in a new video in which he vows to “take a chainsaw” to the government’s 300-page workers’ rights overhaul. Tory MP Andrew Griffith filmed himself cutting through the tome of new legislation that the Employment Rights Bill will foist on employers, [...]
Major workers’ rights changes delayed in bid to win over business July 1, 2025 Controversial plans to hand new employees a glut of additional rights from day one and make flexible working the default will not be implemented until 2027, the government has said, after a deluge of warnings from industry that the measures would stifle firms’ ability to hire and invest. As part of the long-awaited roadmap for [...]
Workers’ rights: £60bn industry warns against Labour overhaul June 4, 2025 The government’s flagship workers’ rights legislation is poised to have “serious unintended consequences” for firms’ capacity to take on new staff and offer them sufficient hours if ministers fail to consult more closely with employers, more than 120 facilities management bosses have warned. Writing in an open letter signed by the likes of FTSE 250 [...]