iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Devices modified by Israel at production, Lebanon security sources say
KT APPDOWNLOAD
UK firms fear tougher employment regulation, CBI says
Labour pledged in its election campaign to require employers to offer all staff parental leave, guaranteed minimum hours, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal
A drone view of London's Shard skyscraper with the Canary Wharf financial district in the background, two days before the government presents its critical pre-election budget, in London, Britain March 3, 2024. — Reuters file
British businesses are worried that greater protections for employees planned by the newly elected Labour government will make it more risky to hire new staff, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said on Sunday.
Labour pledged in its election campaign to require employers to offer all staff parental leave, guaranteed minimum hours, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal. The government is now preparing specific legislative proposals.
Under current law, staff employed for less than two years can be dismissed without an employer needing to prove misconduct or poor performance.
The CBI said an annual survey of employers, conducted with recruitment agency Pertemps, showed widespread concern among smaller businesses that it would become hard to sack new workers who did not perform well.
"While the government has said that businesses can use probation periods, the possibility of decisions at the end of probation being challenged at employment tribunal has 75 per cent of respondents saying they'd be more cautious about taking on new staff," CBI work and skills director Matthew Percival said.
The CBI said 62 per cent of employers expected Britain to become a worse place to invest and do business over the next five years, driven by a six percentage point rise since last year in those expecting things to become "much worse".
Employment regulation was a problem for 39 per cent of employers at present, but 58 per cent expected it to become a problem over the next five years, according to the survey of 152 businesses, two thirds of them small or medium-sized.
Britain's unemployment rate is low by historic standards at 4.1 per cent, but the Labour Party has criticised the previous Conservative government for allowing labour force participation to fall from record pre-pandemic levels.
Labour wants to raise the labour force participation rate to a record 80 per cent of the working-age population from 78.1 per cent. Before the pandemic, the rate peaked at 79.5 per cent.
More news from World
Top US diplomat is visiting Egypt hoping to advance efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and strengthen ties with Cairo
A UNRWA official said the Israeli government is also 'increasingly phasing out representation from those engaged in reporting on the atrocities'
Of the 2.8 million private cars registered in the Scandinavian country, 754,303 are all-electric, compared to 753,905 that run on petrol
Months of behind-the-scenes negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to halt the fighting between Hamas and Israel, apart from a one-week truce beginning in late November
Modi's government has frequently deployed bulldozers and earthmovers to flatten property owned by those facing trial, saying it targets illegal construction and is a firm response to criminal activity
If approved, Oxford Street would join other major shopping hubs such as Times Square in New York and La Rambla in Barcelona that have gone fully traffic-free
