Employment law changes to cost £667m, says chamber
Proposed new employment regulations, legislation and taxes could cost businesses in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire more than £667m over the next four years. That’s according to new research from the region’s chamber of commerce.
The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber has warned that with the economy still fragile, unemployment at high levels and cuts in public spending beginning to bite, the weight of additional red tape could have “a serious adverse impact on both future job creation and economic growth”.
During the 2011/12 tax year, seven major changes will occur within the current tax regime, including the scrapping of the Default Retirement Age, which carries a one-off hit of £51.3m.
The potential bill facing employers in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire over the next four years stands at an estimated £667m. Nationally, proposed new legislation for introduction between April 2011 and April 2015 will cost businesses a massive £22.87bn, said the chamber.
Other regulations in the pipeline include the right to request time off to train, which will have an annual recurring cost to business of £175m nationally and more than £5m locally.
The 2012 Pensions Reform will also be introduced. The legislation will have an annual national recurring cost of £4.5bn, equating to a local impact of more than £132m.
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber president, Ian Morgan, said: “Reducing financial and administrative burdens is one of the Chamber’s key lobbying priorities.
“If private sector business is to stand any chance of creating the jobs, wealth and growth we need to secure the recovery and restore the economy back to full health, then government needs to do all it can to make it easier for firms to recruit and retain a productive workforce. Government doesn’t seem to understand that there is a direct link between the cost and the administrative burden of employing people and job creation. As one goes up the other inevitably goes down.”
