The recent Budget was generally agreed to be one of the largest and most significant of recent years and its details have since been the subject of considerable scrutiny as experts examined the likely implications.
A number of organisations have now responded, with the general consensus being that employers will be at the front when it comes to finding the £40 billion in tax rises and that this could have a significant impact on their ability to recruit and to increase workers’ pay.
This is certainly the view of the British Safety Council (BSC) which, while it welcomed the protection of the smallest employers from the increase to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs), notes that increased bills for others will put new jobs at risk.
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The CIPD agreed that the increases could be a “headwind to growth”, disrupting many employers’ recruitment and skills investment plans.
Its Head of Public Policy, Ben Willmott, said: “It’s essential the forthcoming Spending Review and Industrial Strategy set out how the Government will work with employers to raise productivity in ‘everyday economy’ sectors and not just in a limited number of ‘high growth sectors’ at the sharp edge of innovation and R&D.”
Think tank the Work Foundation, highlighted the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) suggestion that the changes may suppress the overall rate of employment by 50,000 employees (0.2%) by 2029–30, as organisations find it more expensive to employ people.
It also focused on wider plans to get more people into work and argued that the detail of the Government’s Get Britain Working White Paper, expected later this month, will be particularly important.
