Pictured: Claire Thomas
A series of employment legislation changes could hit local
businesses hard when they come into effect next month, says
Newcastle-based Brampton Recruitment.
Small businesses in particular will feel the pinch when the
minimum wage rises at the beginning of October from 5.93 per hour
for over 21 year olds to £6.08 per hour.
Explained Brampton Recruitment managing director Claire Thomas:
"In North Staffordshire, where there's a high proportion of low
paid workers, this will have a big impact for many local
companies.
"With a fragile local economy and businesses aiming to be as
competitive as possible to win work, this will be an extra
financial burden, which all employers must adhere to."
In addition, the recession has lead to many companies opting to
bring in temporary workers rather than employ them on permanent
contracts, and here too new European legislation, which could
impact on companies big and small alike, will hit on October
1st.
The Agency Workers Directive will see temporary workers who have
been with a company for more than 12 weeks able to claim similar
rights to permanent staff - including equal pay and
holidays.
Added Claire: "The overall number of temporary workers in the UK
is at an all-time high at 1.6 million; so many firms will feel the
impact of the changes.
"We have more than 70 temporary staff on our books working with
60 local firms and the onus is on us to ensure that employers do
comply with the new legislation. In many cases it increases
the cost of temps as firms have to finance holiday pay and also
give temporary staff access to certain company benefits.
"The most affected will be industrial sites which bring in, for
example, seasonal staff to cope with peaks in business and
generally pay them a lower wage than permanent employees.
"However, we do believe that the benefits of employing temporary
staff will still be substantial for most local companies, not least
because it gives them flexibility in what continues to be uncertain
economic times."