NINE out of ten small-business employers believe that the recent changes to employment laws will damage their firms, according to Peninsula, the employment-law adviser.
And 79% said they were struggling to understand the complexities of the new laws, which came into force at the beginning of this month.
For instance, under the new regulations to prevent age discrimination, it is unlawful for employers to select candidates on the grounds of age. This will affect the wording that can be used in job advertisements and the questions that can be asked during an interview. It is also unlawful to offer inferior terms to employees because of their age.
In addition, the introduction of new “family friendly” legislation has meant that the period for statutory maternity pay has been extended from six months to nine and all employees are automatically entitled to additional maternity leave with no qualifying period.
The small-firms exemption has been removed, which means that businesses with fewer than five employees could face a claim for unfair dismissal if they do not allow a pregnant worker to return. Previously they had been exempt.
The introduction of the new laws has further boosted support from small-business owners for the Cut Red Tape campaign that was launched at the beginning of this year by Peter Done, one of our Sunday Times Business Doctors and managing director of Peninsula.
The campaign was set up with the aim of persuading the government to reduce the growing amount of employment legislation that is burdening owners of small businesses.
More than 11,600 small-business owners have registered their support for the campaign, and in the light of the strong interest Done has decided to extend it until February, when he will present a petition to Downing Street.
Veronica Bailey, managing partner of Fare Wise Travel, a travel agency in Hungerford, Berkshire, that employs four staff, is one of the thousands of small-business owners who have signed up for Peninsula’s campaign.
She said: “I would like to think that we are a family-friendly employer anyway — we don’t need this legislation.
“When you are a small business like ours, it makes it extremely difficult if you don’t know from day to day whether you are going to have staff in or not because they have family problems or whatever.
“We are as flexible as we can be, but I don’t want legislation to tell me what I have to do and what I don’t have to do.”
Bailey added: “The new laws are also very difficult to understand and very complicated and mean that I have to spend more time dealing with red tape. I am sure it is a good idea to remind people, but on the other hand I feel I can do my own managing of staff and don’t have to be told how to by the government.”
Peninsula’s survey of 924 small and medium-sized businesses from industries across the UK found that only 11% thought that giving employees more family-friendly rights was a good thing.
Done said: “These additional, family-friendly policies are another clear example of extra red tape that is harming businesses’ growth, further complicating the minefield of employment law that is engulfing small businesses in particular.
“As an employer you must make sure that you are one step ahead. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so, and this is another example of the huge amounts of red tape that employers need to wade through.”
If you would like to add your name to the campaign, details can be found at the website www.cutredtape06.com.
