Small businesses – and that includes freelancers and contractors – are left out in the cold when it comes to possible help on reducing Health & Safety red tape.
A proposal in the House of Lords that could have slashed through the red tape for small business owners when it comes to employers being held responsible for accidents was recently denied, despite the fact that hopes were running high that revisions to Health and Safety rules would have become incorporated in the new Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.
The decision to deny the measure has drawn nothing but ire from industry experts, and no one has been more vociferous in their condemnation of the move than has the Forum of Private Businesses, the trade industry body that represents the interests of smaller sized firms in the UK, which includes the self-employed. Alex Jackman, the Forum’s policy head, had some very choice words for the media, as he remarked that it’s been far too long that employers have had to bear the burden of these Health and Safety rules, especially since employers are being used as both a scapegoat and a whipping post for the issue.
The current approach makes it incredibly expensive for small business owners, added Mr Jackman. In a time where things should be done to make it easier and less expensive for SMEs to conduct business and not harder and more costly, the economy really can’t bear this strain – especially when SMEs and contract workers are integral to economic recovery in the UK!
If you ask me, the Government owes a debt of gratitude to every small firm and freelancer that conducts business in this day and age despite the rocky economic climate. Where else are you going to be able to find individuals committed to driving economic recovery if not in the small business and interim working sectors?
Government ministers should be bending over backwards to slash red tape for these businesses instead of making their lives harder. Quit spending so much time and money on trying to revitalise the banking industry and instead take direct action that improves the lives and profitability of businesses – especially smaller firms – and you’re going to see much better results than you’re getting right now, I can almost guarantee it!
Of course, no one listens to me, least of all anyone in Government. It’s a shame because I’m not the only person saying this – but it’s hard to hear the voices of the people when multinationals and banks speak so loudly, isn’t it?
