The FSB claims the Chancellor missed a golden opportunity to boost the creation of jobs when he delivered his budget on Wednesday.
The national chairman of the FSB, John Walker, said he welcomed the fuel duty stabiliser, the commitment to cut fuel duty and the introduction of 21 new Enterprise Zones to provide stability for SMEs and umbrella company contractors.
The coalition is committed to reducing bureaucracy but Walker believes we will still see new employment laws introduced this year which might stop companies taking on more staff. Osborne also missed the opportunity to extend the NIC holiday to existing firms throughout the UK, Walker added.
Kevin Green, the chief executive of the REC, said he was delighted that George Osborne had listened to the concerns of recruiters and reduced corporation tax faster than originally planned. Firms across the country will welcome this move.
He is also pleased that the government has come up with a £300 million package of measures to help Britain’s young people enter the workplace. The REC’s Youth Employment Taskforce has been urging the coalition to take action to help the increasing number of young adults who are not in work or further education, and the creation of 100,000 work experience opportunities and 40,000 new apprenticeships is welcome news.
However, Green also wants the Chancellor to go further and offer additional financial incentives to employers who take on young workers. He suggested that SMEs should be granted a one year NI holiday if they take on more young adults.
Mr. Green expressed his dismay that the planned rise in National Insurance Contributions was still going ahead and that nothing has been done to address the problems that deter the unemployed from taking up short-term job contracts.
With regards to the AWR, the REC thinks the government should have provided assurances that it will do everything possible to limit any negative impact the regulations may have. It would also have been useful if the Chancellor had outlined a comprehensive plan for the review of employment law so that firms would have certainty on the areas that this parliament would be concentrating on.
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