Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Agency workersJob creation and lossesLabour marketPolitical electionsPensions

Few surprises for employers in pre-election Budget

by Jo Faragher 18 Mar 2015
by Jo Faragher 18 Mar 2015 Danny Alexander and George Osborne ahead of today's Budget. Photo: Jonathan Hordle/REX
Danny Alexander and George Osborne ahead of today's Budget. Photo: Jonathan Hordle/REX

The Chancellor’s final budget before the election offered few surprises for employers, with George Osborne boasting that “Britain is walking tall again”, having created 1.9 million jobs over the duration of this parliament.

Citing figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), he said that it was a “massive moment” that “Britain has the highest rate of employment in its history”. The claimant count for unemployment, according to the ONS, is the lowest since 1975.

Unemployment fell by 102,000 to 1.86 million in the three months to January, the ONS said, although average earnings continued to grow slowly, increasing by 1.6% (excluding bonuses) compared with the same period a year ago.

The Chancellor also had positive news to share on economic growth. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, UK GDP growth this year will be 2.5%, higher than the 2.3% rise predicted for 2015 last year, he said.

Among the headline measures that might affect businesses and their staff were:

  • A pledge to clamp down on employment intermediaries or recruitment agencies who abuse tax reliefs on travel or subsistence, or claim false self-employment.
  • Confirmation that up to five million existing pensioners will be able to swap fixed annual payments for a cash lump sum.
  • The personal tax-free allowance is to go up to £10,600 in two weeks’ time, £10,800 next year, and then £11,000 in the year after next – a tax cut for 27 million people, according to the Chancellor.
  • We are “on course for a minimum wage that will be over £8 by the end of the decade”, plus confirmation that the apprentice rate will see the biggest increase ever.
  • Investment in regional growth, such as a new Energy Research Accelerator in the Midlands and business rate perks in Manchester and Cambridge.
  • Inflation was projected to fall to 0.2% in 2015.

Budget 2015 reaction

Tom Hadley, director of policy and professional services at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said: “The Chancellor’s focus on tax avoidance by employment intermediaries will be critical to ensuring a level playing field for recruiters who play by the rules.

It’s astonishing that productivity wasn’t referenced even once in the Chancellor’s speech” – Mark Beatson, CIPD

“Progress here is long overdue and such a public commitment to clamp down on agencies and umbrella companies that exploit travel and subsistence schemes is very welcome news. It’s something we called for in our Manifesto for Jobs last Autumn and we’re glad to see the Government take action.”

Mark Beatson, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “The Government is right to cheer the rise in employment but there are still some big questions that they have failed to answer on productivity.

“It’s astonishing that productivity wasn’t referenced even once in the Chancellor’s speech, and yet this is the biggest challenge that the economy and businesses face now.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Chris Jones, chief executive of City & Guilds, said: “Today’s budget had a common theme – job creation. From investment in large-scale infrastructure projects, to cuts in business rates for SMEs, to abolishing National Insurance for employing an apprentice – all will open up new employment opportunities, and that’s fantastic.

“However, creating jobs is one thing, filling them is another. To fill these jobs, we need people with the right skills. The Government has already invested significantly into apprenticeships, and that’s great. But they are only part of the solution. We need to go further to bridge the gap between education and employment.”

Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Prostate problems: how can employers help?
next post
Duty to make reasonable adjustments not triggered when no indication of return to work

You may also like

Fall in entry-level jobs linked to rise of...

30 Jun 2025

Welfare cuts would ‘undermine workforce inclusion and business...

27 Jun 2025

Bank of England says NIC rise is dampening...

27 Jun 2025

Bioethanol plant closure could lead to 4,000 job...

26 Jun 2025

Pay awards remain ‘cautious’ in uncertain economy

25 Jun 2025

Graduate jobs this summer ‘will be toughest since...

25 Jun 2025

Amazon invests £40bn in UK creating thousands of...

24 Jun 2025

Skills receive £1.2bn boost in new industrial strategy

23 Jun 2025

Low-paid could receive ‘Britannia’ dividend under Reform’s non-dom...

23 Jun 2025

Aldi to hire for 1,000 new supermarket roles

23 Jun 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+