BRC responds to Government’s Guaranteed Hours cost analysis

Responding to the publication of the Government’s Guaranteed Hours cost analysis, Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, said:
“The scale of these costs raises serious questions about whether the Guaranteed Hours reforms will actually deliver value for workers, with the cost to employers appearing hugely disproportionate to the benefits for employees. These estimates also only tell part of the story, as retailers will have to fork out hundreds of millions of pounds to update their HR and payroll systems.

“These costs could not come at a worse time. Retailers have already been forced to make difficult decisions following the £6.5bn increase in employment costs over the past two years from higher National Insurance Contributions and the National Living Wage, on top of the additional costs businesses will face from other measures in the Employment Rights Act. Adding further costs when youth unemployment is soaring risks being a hammer blow to young people’s job prospects, at precisely the time businesses across the country need to be creating more opportunities.

“The Government should focus on tackling genuinely insecure work without punishing responsible businesses or undermining the availability of the flexible jobs that so many workers value.”