The majority of HR directors in the retail sector have warned that the Employment Rights Bill will reduce hiring and job flexibility, and negatively impact their business.
The findings were revealed in a British Retail Consortium (BRC) survey with 31 retailers that represent around 500,000 staff.
More than 70 percent of retail HRDs said the bill would have a negative or very negative impact on their business. Fewer than one in ten agreed that it would have a positive impact.
Around half (52 percent) believe that the bill will mean they have to cut staff numbers, while 35 percent said headcount would stay the same, and 3 percent said it would increase.
More than three-fifths (61 percent) said the bill would reduce flexibility in job offerings, while close to a quarter (23 percent) thought flexibility would remain the same, and 7 percent said it would increase.
The findings were released as the bill is due to be discussed in the House of Lords today.
BRC’s survey found that the biggest concern for HR leaders is around proposals to establish rights to guaranteed hours. The industry body said this could make it much harder to offer people part-time jobs. Currently, 1.5 million of the 3 million people working in the sector are part-time.
Costs associated with the bill were another concern with 52 percent of respondents expecting prices for customers to increase as a result of the new legislation. None of the respondents said it would reduce prices, although 26 percent said prices would be unchanged by the bill.
BRC emphasised that concerns about the bill have come in the same month as employers saw their national insurance payments rise, as well as an increase in the national living wage. It said that NI and wage rises are expected to cost retailers £5 billion in the year ahead, while the industry body also estimates that food inflation will hit 5 percent by the end of 2025.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive at BRC, said: “Almost 250,000 jobs have been lost in retail over the last five years and many major retailers have already announced further job cuts on the back of increased costs of employment which kicked in in April.
“Those in charge of retail hiring are clear – unless amended the bill will make it even harder to keep and create jobs, and [it will] reduce the flexibility that defines many existing retail roles. This matters [because] local, flexible retail jobs are an important stepping stone for those entering or returning to the workforce.
“Retailers agree with government on the need to crack down on unscrupulous employers, but in its current form the Employment Rights Bill could backfire, putting the brakes on hiring, or worse still, putting retail job numbers further into reverse.
“The government wants growth and wants to reform welfare and increase the numbers in work. We are aligned on the objectives. Now its about making sure the implementation of policies help not hinder retailers ability to provide the very jobs the economy needs.”
Dickinson said that if the government’s willingness to engage translates into meaningful changes on the guaranteed hours proposals, it could bring much-needed clarity and help retailers move away from worst-case scenario planning. She added that many of the amendments being debated in the House of Lords today would offer that clarity, “so I hope to see them supported by peers [in the Lords] and accepted in turn by the government.”
