Written by David Milliken
LONDON (Reuters) – British businesses are worried that the new Labor government's sweeping labor protections will put new workers at risk, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said on Sunday.
Workers pledged in their election campaign to demand that employers provide all workers with parental leave, guaranteed minimum hours, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal. The government is now preparing some legislative proposals.
Under current law, employees employed for less than two years can be fired unless the employer needs to prove misconduct or poor performance.
The CBI said the annual survey of employers, carried out by recruitment agency Pertemps, showed widespread concern among small businesses that it will be difficult to fire underperforming young workers.
“Although the government has said that businesses can use trial periods, the chances that the decisions will ultimately be challenged in an employment tribunal are 75% of respondents who said they would be more careful about hiring new employees,” said the CBI's work and skills. said director Matthew Percival.
The CBI said 62% of employers expect Britain to be a worse place to invest and do business over the next five years, driven by a 6% rise from last year for those expecting things to get “worse”.
Hiring management was a problem for 39% of employers now, but 58% expect it to be a problem in the next five years, according to a survey of 152 businesses, two-thirds of which are small or medium-sized.
The unemployment rate in Britain is low by historical standards at 4.1%, but the Labor Party has criticized the previous Conservative government for allowing labor force participation to fall to pre-pandemic levels.
Labor wants to increase the labor force participation rate to a record 80% of the working age population from 78.1%. Before the pandemic, the rate increased by 79.5%.
