A measure of confidence among small firms about the year ahead dropped from -24.4 points to -64.5 points, on a scale where the proportion of firms reporting a negative response are subtracted from the share reporting a positive one.
“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.”.
UK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April that Rachel Reeves announced in her autumn budget.
In a fresh blow for the chancellor, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human resources professionals, said a survey of 2,000 employers showed redundancy intentions at their highest level in 10 years, barring the Covid pandemic.
Figures out this week are expected to show a rise in inflation and unemployment, emboldening Reeves’s critics and unnerving backbench Labour MPs concerned that the government’s economic agenda is being blown off course.
