Business and recruitment leaders react to General Election result

Nick Elvin

Last week’s General Election saw the Conservatives win a majority in the House of Commons, despite predictions of a hung parliament.

Recruitment industry bodies, business organisations and unions have been giving their reactions to the election result. Here are a few of them:

Samantha Hurley, head of external relations & compliance at APSCo: “In terms of the labour market, we hope that this government will continue to balance the needs of business and the economy in general with the protection of potentially vulnerable workers.

“We will specifically be pushing for a new regulatory framework that differentiates highly paid, highly skilled professionals, putting them outside the regulation that has clearly been designed to protect vulnerable workers. Allied to this, we will pursue the appointment of a junior minister with a specific remit over flexible staffing – as per our manifesto.

“We will also welcome the continuation of the work undertaken in incentivising fair and transparent payment practices, and the removal of contractual barriers, which stop businesses from accessing affordable finance, with the aim of working towards tackling the highly-specific issues within the professional recruitment sector.

“We believe that government needs to move away from thinking about traditional permanent employment as the only valid form of engaging staff and should recognise and value the many different types of engagement being utilised in today’s market – and crucially, understand the various motivations driving these.

“Obviously the results in Scotland have inexorably changed the political landscape north of the border and it remains to be seen what will happen in the Scottish elections next year. We will continue to engage with the SNP over the coming year to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the professional recruitment sector.”

John Cridland, CBI director-general: “With the votes counted, businesses will be relieved that the clouds of uncertainty around the possibility of a hung parliament have dispersed. There will be hurdles to overcome for the new government though with a slim majority, but it must not duck the tough decisions needed to keep growth striding ahead.

“The Prime Minister must create a pro-enterprise environment, by getting the deficit down, continuing to make the UK one of the most competitive tax environments in the G20, especially for medium-sized businesses, and backing the decision of the Airports Commission.

“With an EU referendum now likely, business will now want to see an ambitious, achievable reform agenda that will make both the UK and Europe more competitive and prosperous for all. The majority of businesses want to stay in a reformed European Union which opens up the world’s largest market of 500 million consumers.

“There have been some major changes in Scotland and now businesses will be looking for reassurance that the devolution proposals agreed by all parties in the draft Scotland Bill will be in the Queen’s Speech.”

Julia Kermode, CEO of the the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA): “On the whole we are pleased that the Conservative party has been re-elected as they seem to have the better understanding of our sector and seem committed to helping the business community.

“However, I would urge Mr Cameron and his government to engage with us further and acknowledge the value of contractors and freelancers as he returns to No 10. Some Conservative policies simply do not recognise the value of the freelance workforce, and the ramifications of any legislation they might be considering implementing, specifically the T&S legislation, would have a negative impact on the working lives of many contractors.

“Earlier this year David Gauke as Finance Secretary to the Treasury went on record to acknowledge the value of umbrella companies as part of the UK labour market but we still have a long way to go as they seem intent on penalising the contracting community.”

Kevin Green, REC chief executive: “Our message to the new government is clear. By working in collaboration we can build the best jobs market in the world in the UK.

“Our industry has an important part to play in supporting growth and creating millions more jobs. We have valuable insights on skill shortages, welfare reform, and education policy and we want to make sure that policy-makers benefit from this expertise.

“For recruiters, we can expect specific issues to come to the fore. The Conservatives have promised to focus on economic growth and competitiveness, which we anticipate being positive for the UK recruitment industry. However, we need to convince the new government to adopt a sensible and balanced approach to immigration so that UK businesses can hire the talent and skills they need to succeed.

“An EU referendum looks certain and this could create uncertainty for businesses. Markets need stability, and our strength comes from the UK working together and as part of the EU. We will continue to advocate the UK’s ongoing membership within a reformed EU.

“We also intend to increase our focus on supporting our Scottish members, in case greater devolution is sought following the gains made by the SNP.”

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC: “We have to hope that David Cameron’s pledge to govern as a one nation prime minister will be his first major U-turn – for his campaign and manifesto was anything but.

“His proposals on trade union law are so draconian that they would make legal strikes close to impossible. This puts him far to the right of almost every mainstream party in advanced democracies, and is likely to leave many of his more thoughtful backbenchers uneasy at a time when living standards are still running well below pre-crash levels. He will face an unprecedented campaign from Britain’s unions against this attack on the basic rights of people at work.

“The prospect of a referendum on Europe will be destabilising for business and the economy. Many of our best jobs and workplace rights depend on EU membership. I say to business leaders today that if you press for stripping away worker rights, environmental protection and consumer safeguards as part of a renegotiation then it will be harder to win the yes vote we need for a prosperous Britain.

“Other parties have had a disappointing night. But while they will need time and energy to rebuild they should not go quiet and allow the new government to win arguments uncontested – especially as we still only see a slow and patchy recovery that could be easily derailed by deep rushed spending cuts.”

Chris Bryce, chief executive at IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed: “A majority government brings stability and certainty that is good for business. IPSE has an excellent working relationship with the Conservative Party, as indicated by the appointment of an Ambassador to the self-employed. We hope the Ambassador’s role can grow into a ministerial role in the new parliament to reflect the increasing importance of the self-employed to the UK’s economy.

“The Conservative Party took up many of IPSE’s ideas in their manifesto and we look forward to seeing these implemented. A new business conciliation service would help address some of the issues stemming from late payments and we hope to play a leading role in contributing to reviews on how mortgages, pensions and maternity and paternity pay could work better for the self-employed in the new parliament.”