Employment rules hit business for £6bn
British business has lost nearly £6bn a year since Labour came to power, due to changes in employment regulation made by the government, according to a new survey.
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Research conducted by the Institute of Directors and published today found that UK businesses had been hit particularly hard by the working time directive and the national minimum wage, costing business £2.3bn and £2.7bn a year respectively.
The IoD report warned that the speed of new regulation seemed to be increasing and that the economy was likely to suffer as private companies struggled to cope under the burden.
‘The increased burden of regulation in recent years, along with higher taxes on businesses, is undoubtedly hurting the competitiveness of business and the economy,’ said Ruth Lea, head of the Policy Unit at the IoD and author of the report.
‘This country has to make a choice between a free and lightly regulated labour markets, low taxes, economic dynamism and strong job creation, on the one hand, and intrusive and heavily regulated labour markets, high taxes, economic stagnation and weak job creation, on the other hand. There is, in reality, no Third Way. Heavy regulation destroys dynamism. Heavy regulation kills enterprise.’