Member Article

Flexible working rules could be 'nightmare'

Small business groups have warned that the government’s plans to increase flexible working to parents of older children - announced in the draft Queen’s speech by Gordon Brown - could prove to be a nightmare for small businesses.

The news comes at a time when the EU is close to reaching agreement on the controversial Agency Workers Directive - backed by Gordon Brown - that would give temporary workers the same rate of pay, holiday and other benefits as permanent staff.

Phil McCabe, Media and PR Manager at the Forum of Private Businesses, said: “The temporary labour market has been relatively free of the bureaucracy that is such a burden for many businesses when they take on full-time staff. It is difficult to see how undermining this will reconcile with the move to allow millions of extra workers to ask for time off.

“For many entrepreneurs, losing more key members of staff for periods would be a nightmare. Taking on agency staff to cover absences has often been a reasonable solution, as it suits all parties. Removing the incentive to employ temps on a part-time basis could leave many businesses with serious staffing problems.”

Alan Tyrrell, Federation of Small Businesses Employment Chairman, said: “The current flexible working regime seems to be working, but the government should be cautious about extending it too far, which could be damaging to small businesses and, as a result, the millions of people they employ. “Bringing in a whole new set of complicated employment regulations for temporary workers on top of that could make the situation untenable for many small businesses.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .