Top ten regulations deterring businesses from taking on staff

Friday, 27th April 2012

Research from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, found that, of those organisations that said employment regulation deterred them from hiring staff, only 1% identified dismissal and disciplinary as the top concern.

The top 10 deterrents to employment were:

1. Health and safety -This was the top concern for employers overall, with 13% identifying it as the biggest recruitment deterrent; it was found to be of particular concern to micro-businesses.

2. Maternity/paternity leave -One organisation in 10 singled out maternity and paternity leave regulations as the biggest concern when taking on new recruits.

3. Tax -Another big issue for micro-firms, tax was rated as a top deterrent when hiring by 8% of organisations.

4. National minimum wage -Small businesses were particularly concerned about this issue.

5. National insurance -On a par with the minimum wage, 6% of employers said that national insurance was a deterrent to taking on staff. Small and medium-sized businesses were the most concerned about this.

6. Employer's liability insurance -Micro-organisations were the most worried about employer's liability insurance and 5% of employers of all sizes identified it as a concern.

7. Working Time Regulations -5% ranked these as the top deterrent to taking on staff. Small and medium-sized companies were particularly worried about it.

8. Sickness absence -Overall, 5% of employers said that sickness absence regulation put them off hiring.

9. Time off to train -The right to request time off to train was considered a deterrent to hiring for 4% of employers, with small and medium-sized businesses particularly concerned about it.

10. Discrimination -Regulations around discrimination were a concern in businesses of all sizes. Overall, 3% rated these as the top barrier to taking on staff and, for employers with 251+ employees, these were the biggest regulatory concern.

(Source: www.personneltoday.co.uk Laura Chamberlain 23rd April 2012)

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