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The bill includes some of the most significant and wide-ranging changes to employment laws for decades. Major decisions have been taken and written into the bill without detailed consultation with businesses, they allege.
Businesses are keen for further consultation on the new laws that will make the recognition process easier for unions, lower the voting threshold for taking industrial action, and halve the notice period for unions to inform employers they are about to take action.
They feel proposals on zero hours contracts are mainly sensible, allowing workers to enjoy this flexibility when it suits them. But the requirement to offer guaranteed hours after only 12 weeks, could be disastrous for firms who need to respond to seasonal and fluctuating demand.
There are concerns that increased restrictions for firms who need to make changes to the workforce, together with the ramping up of financial penalties for those who make mistakes in the process could be crippling for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a BCC release said.
The BCC recently gave evidence about all these concerns at a hearing of the bill committee on the proposed changes.
The government’s own assessment suggests that the legislation will cost businesses almost £5 billion per year, with SMEs affected the most.
These costs follow a harsh budget for business, where increases in employers’ national insurance contributions and the national living wage are set to pile a further cost of over £20 billion on firms.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)