Another nail in the coffin of UK competitiveness
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has had its fears confirmed by the deal struck by the government with the EU over the employment of agency workers. As reported previously, the deal extends permanent employment rights to agency workers after only twelve weeks.
In a statement earlier this week, the FSB said the agreement imposed a disproportionate burden on SMBs, while “the back-room manner in which this deal was negotiated by big business and trade unions should be of great concern to all those who will suffer the consequences.”
An online poll conducted by the FSB received 885 responses, half of them from employers who had employed temporary workers. Of these, 98.5 percent said they were less likely to employ them in future, including 96.4 percent of the small number who said they relied on temporary workers.
The deal preserved Britain’s opt-out from the EU’s 48-hour maximum working week, in tacit recognition of the fact that only longer hours compensate for low productivity across the UK economy.
