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Employment costs risk for future of jobs
GOVERNMENT plans are putting future Peterborough jobs at risk, despite new figures which show that unemployment levels have remained relatively unchanged across the East of England over the last quarter.
GOVERNMENT plans are putting future Peterborough jobs at risk, despite new figures which show that unemployment levels have remained relatively unchanged across the East of England over the last quarter. According to Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, the government is doing little to encourage job creation as the region's businesses will be hit with a bill for more than 2.6 billion if it goes ahead with plans to introduce multiple new employment regulations and increased taxes over the next four years.
Despite many companies still facing difficult trading conditions, a blizzard of fresh red tape and taxes directly related to employment are planned from April 2010 to April 2014, with eight major changes earmarked for 2011 alone.
Research carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the national counterpart of the Peterborough Chamber, shows that the one per cent increase in employer's national insurance contributions planned for April 2011 will cost businesses in the region more than 1.4 billion.
Other costly regulations in the pipeline include the Equality Bill, which will have a one-off cost to businesses across the UK of 190 million, the Agency Workers Directive in 2011, which will have an annual recurring cost to UK business of 1.5 billion and, a year later, the Pensions Reform which will have an annual recurring cost to business of 4.8 billion.
Commenting on the figures, John Bridge, chief executive of Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, said: "The cost of employing people must be reduced if future governments are serious about giving businesses the freedom to create jobs and drive our economic recovery. What must not happen after a general election is that a new government - from whatever party - comes to power and decides to add to this already sizable burden on business.
"From what local employers are telling us they will get on with creating jobs and wealth, but they simply need government to get off their backs and let them do it. A good start would be to abolish the planned increase in National Insurance in 2011 - it's a tax on jobs and will hinder recovery.
"The new employment figures show that compared to the other regions across the UK, the East remains in a positive position, coming second only to the South East in terms of low unemployment rates and high employment rates. But that doesn't mean businesses are out of the woods yet and if the government wants businesses to grow then it needs to start giving them its backing."
Independent recruitment agency Anne Corder Recruitment has noted an increase in the levels of permanent jobs available since the beginning of the year and is keen to see that continue."After the year of economic uncertainty everyone has suffered I wouldn't like to see the upturn we are now experiencing and the sense of recovery there is in the business community to be affected by this raft of legislation," said Anne Corder.
"We have been lobbying our MPs about the Agency Workers Directive, which is just one of the pieces of legislation which could have a big knock-on effect. Each piece of legislation brings with it a huge time and cash burden on businesses - the cumulative effect could be enormous.
"As well as being a leading recruitment agency, we are also a small business which will be affected by many of these changes. Like any small business we want to concentrate on what we do best - being a recruitment agency. The ever-increasing burden of legislation takes the business's focus away from this and on to issues which don't help generate income or growth."
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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