More than half of business leaders will be less likely to hire new employees as a result of the government’s upcoming reforms to workers’ rights, a survey by the Institute of Directors has found.
The IoD polled 715 businesses across the UK of varying sizes, finding that 57% would be less likely to hire.
The Employment Rights Bill, which the Labour government promised within 100 days of it taking office, includes strengthened rights such as day-one rights to parental leave, simplified trade union recognition and giving workers the right to a contract reflecting the hours they usually work.
More than a third (35.5%) said the reforms would have no impact on their hiring intentions, and 2% said they would be more likely to hire. Five per cent felt the reforms did not apply to them.
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Alexandra Hall-Chen, principal policy advisor at the IoD, said businesses were concerned about impacts of the proposed reforms.
“The government’s self-imposed deadline for the introduction of employment rights legislation is now just over a month away.
“Time is running out, so it is essential that the government starts to meaningfully engage with business on the details of its proposed reforms to ensure that its growth mission is not derailed.”
A recent report by think tank the Resolution Foundation found that major reform could risk “negative employment effects”, but said that policies such as the minimum wage should reassure employers, and that lower-paid workers would be set to benefit most.
A poll by the TUC just after the general election in July found that the majority of voters across the political spectrum supported the pledges in Labour’s New Deal for Working People.
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