“The upcoming Employment Rights Bill is a major source of stress for small firms, with nine in 10 business owners saying they are concerned about its introduction, and this is undoubtedly a major cause of the very subdued confidence levels seen in our research.
A third of businesses that expect their employment costs to increase said they plan to reduce their headcount through redundancies or recruiting fewer workers – and two in five warned they will raise prices.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said: “Many of the warnings being issued against the Employment Rights Bill are the same discredited ones that were voiced against the introduction of the minimum wage 25 years ago.
– A separate survey found that confidence among small businesses hit its lowest recorded point outside the Covid pandemic in the fourth quarter of last year.
Tina McKenzie, of the FSB, said: “The fourth quarter blues reported by small firms underline how urgently the Government’s growth push is needed.
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