The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) believes the UK is running the risk of a “jobless recovery” if the Government do not match their plan for economic growth with initiatives that are business-friendly.
According to the BCC, the cause of the predicted “jobless recovery” would be due to the increase in unemployment combined with the legislative burden on employers.
The BCC said businesses need to be encouraged to recruit staff and will be vital in ensuring employment levels are raised. Encouragements would come from the government relieve businesses of income regulations, offer employers tax incentives to hire young workers, reinstate the £25m cut from the trade promotion budget and help small businesses gain easier access to credit.
David Frost, the BCC director-general said that the government’s plans for economic growth had not been matched with “real action”. He said that business confidence needed to be boosted, investment encourage and the spirit of enterprise to be rekindled.
With news of the economy contracting faster than anticipated, shrinking by 0.6 percent during the last three months of 2010, even more pressure will be on George Osbourne to reveal a solid “budget for growth” next month.
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( 3 / 236 )During the recession, employees were too afraid of taking a sick day due to a fear it would lead to redundancy. Well, we must be feeling a lot more optimistic about the future of our economy as over 613,000 of us enjoyed a duvet day or two over the past three months.
After falling to a record low during the repercussions of the economic downturn, the rate of absence due to sickness is back up to normal levels, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The top reason for calling in sick was for a cough or cold, which may mean that people are more comfortable calling in sick over a minor illness without having to worry what effect it will have on their employment.
Health experts had previously warned that due to a fear of redundancy, many employees were forcing them selves to work even though they were suffering from a genuine illness.
We are bombarded with news of job cuts, the rise in unemployment levels and inflation being at a two-year high – so should employees be feeling so confident in throwing a ‘sickie’ or should we actually see this as a glimmer of hope that the worst is over?
This could actually be seen as positive news for the boss – they won’t have an office full of staff suffering from the same bout of flu that has been passed round.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 243 )With new rules being set in stone for all employers to provide a pension for staff, it is perhaps time for SME employers to start thinking about providing a pension scheme for their staff.
The new pension regulations, which will also have companies making a financial contribution to schemes, are expected to be brought in from next year. It will mean companies with 350 or more members of staff being affected from 2013, whilst smaller businesses will have to put the regulations in place from October 2014.
A new flexible private pension scheme, targeted at small businesses with 20 staff or fewer, may provide an alternative option for SMEs ready for when the new regulations are executed.
Launching this week, the scheme will cost highly paid employees the same to run as a government-backed scheme. The scheme, designed for high-earners by Towergate Financial and HSBC, will charge a 0.5 percent annual management charge for employees paying £300 a month into their pension. A wide range of attractive investment options and services will also be provided, including easier online access to information about their pension.
The scheme would work in the favour of small businesses, with a maximum charge on the group personal pension being 1 percent as there would be a set up fee and annual management fee.
Following the collapse in private pension provisions during the recession, research by the Department of Work and Pensions revealed that in a survey of 2,500 employers, 72 percent of private sector firms did not provide a pension for staff.
With the new regulations being put in place, it could be time that employers start to plan ahead and think about having the most financially sound pension scheme for their employees. With employers also being expected to make a financial contribution, it may also be the time to start looking at where best these financial contributions could be made.
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( 3 / 252 )Once upon a time, women looked forward to the equivalent of being rescued by a handsome prince, giving up work and living happily ever after. Allegedly. However, the reality, certainly over the last 30 or so years, has been quite different. These days women who marry and/or have children no longer give up their careers as a matter of course.
With Lord Davies’ report on equality in the Boardroom due out later this week, there has now been a poll conducted amongst almost 3,000 members of the Institute of Leadership and Management, which suggests that women have exchanged their glass slippers for a glass ceiling.
Over 70 percent of the women polled – and remember that these are already high achievers – believed that the glass ceiling is still a barrier to the top jobs, whereas fewer than 40 percent of men thought that it even exists.
One quick fix to the problem of diversity in the workplace, where a mere 12 percent of Directors in FTSE 100 companies are female, would be positive action, or quotas. However, Penny de Valk, Chief Executive of the Institute, has been quoted as saying that “although they drive compliance, they do not necessarily drive a commitment to the more fundamental changes that are required."
According to the poll, one of those changes might be in the way in which women perceive themselves as business leaders. Apparently a high percentage of the women polled felt that they lacked confidence and career ambition but, interestingly, more of them aspired to run their own business than achieving higher status within an organisation.
All of which might mean that women have actually come a long way from their glass slipper days. Modern women are apparently happier running their own show, with around a quarter of Directors of SMEs being female. The hero of the story might actually be a heroine.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 257 )There may be a hint of Spring in the air for the growth of the economy, with the launch of the government’s Business Growth Fund. The fund, chaired by Sir Nigel Rudd, will start investing in April in small companies with an annual turnover of between £10m and £100m.
The fund is backed by six of the UK’s leading banks and will put between £2m and £10m into each investment, taking an equity stake of no less than 10 percent and no more than 50. The team leading the fund is well qualified in this arena - working alongside Sir Nigel will be Stephen Welton, of CCMP Capital, who has just been named its new Chief Executive.
The fund has been set up as part of the government’s plans to re-boot the economy and it will target SMEs mainly outside London, working alongside the Regional Growth Fund (RGF).
Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable said: “This is great news for small businesses throughout the country who have been struggling to get the credit they need to grow. As we work to create a more balanced economy it is entirely right that the banks should play their part in helping small businesses throughout the country.”
Small businesses, which qualify, would be able to use the fund as an alternative to traditional bank loans and overdrafts, which Sir Nigel believes is the way forward. “For too long in this country small companies have relied on bank finance.” He said.
Small businesses are undoubtedly the way forward for the growth of the economy, as we have always been a nation of entrepreneurs and workers. Rather like plants, in the right environment and not smothered by legislation and bureaucracy, we can thrive. The addition of funding can only help fertilise the growth.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
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