The government’s Make Work Pay Bill lacks a pro-growth element and will increase economic inactivity, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned.

The business group says that the legislation, particularly around day one dismissal rights, risks deterring small employers from taking a chance on someone who has had a significant period out of the workplace, shutting those doors and deepening social exclusion

It warns that the Bill is rushed and poorly planned while dropping 28 new measures onto small business employers all at once leaves them scrambling to make sense of it all.

There are already 65,000 fewer payroll jobs since Labour took power, and the new government is sending out a ‘troubling signal to businesses and investors’, the FSB adds.

Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair at the FSB, said:

‘The Chancellor has the opportunity to lead the way in adding a pro-business, pro-employment element to Make Work Pay in her upcoming Budget. This should include a rise in the Employment Allowance, pegging it to future rises in the National Living Wage. It should also include the reintroduction of the small business rebate for Statutory Sick Pay.

‘Sufficient time should be taken to avoid this becoming a hastily cobbled-together Act of Parliament. We look forward to more engagement and the start of a full consultation on each individual measure to ensure the voice of small employers is heard.’

Internet links: FSB

The new Growth and Skills Levy must end the ‘cycle of policy failure’ in addressing Britain’s chronic skills shortages, according to the Resolution Foundation.

The think tank says the government must get its design and implementation right if it’s to boost the number of apprenticeships after years of decline and ensure that Levy funds go to young people who need it most.

The Foundation says that Britain’s chronic skills shortages are underlined by the fact that the share of job vacancies caused by firms finding it hard to recruit people with the right skills or qualifications has more than doubled over the past decade from 16% in 2011 to 36% in 2022.

Skills shortages aren’t just preventing firms from recruiting either: an increasing share of workers are judged by their current employers to not have the right level of skills required to do their job.

Louise Murphy, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:

‘For too long, well-intentioned reforms have failed to end the cycle of failure when it comes to addressing chronic staff shortages across Britain.

‘One-in-three vacancies today stem from firms not being able to find people with the right skills, while too many young people struggle to find a route into skilled work that doesn’t involve university.

‘The new Growth and Skills Levy offers a fresh chance to break this cycle. But the government must get the detail right if it’s to avoid repeating the same policy mistakes.’

Internet links: Resolution Foundation

More than 10,000 payments worth £12.5 million have been made through a new digital service to boost people’s state pension, HMRC has revealed.

People have until 5 April 2025 to maximise their state pension by making voluntary National Insurance contributions (NICs) to fill any gaps in their NICs record between 6 April 2006 and 5 April 2018.

The service enables people to check if they have gaps in their NICs record, calculate if making a payment would increase their state pension, and then make a payment if they wish to do so.

HMRC data shows:

• 51% of taxpayers topped up one year of their NICs record
• the average online payment is £1,193
• the largest weekly State Pension increase is £107.44.

After the 5 April 2025 deadline, people will only be able to make voluntary contributions for the previous six tax years, in line with normal time limits.

Emma Reynolds, Minister for Pensions, said:

‘We want pensioners of today and tomorrow to enjoy the dignity and support they deserve in retirement. That’s why I urge everyone to check if they could benefit by filling gaps before the deadline passes. Using our online tool means only a few clicks could make a huge difference to your future.’

Check your pension here.

Internet link: GOV.UK

The end of business rates relief will sting hospitality with a £928 million bill in April unless the government acts in the Budget, warns UKHospitality.

Hospitality and leisure businesses face their bills quadrupling if business rates relief ends as planned on 31 March, it adds.

The trade body is calling for the Chancellor to introduce a new lower, permanent and universal rate for hospitality’s business rates at the Budget on 30 October.

It says the current business rates system unfairly penalises hospitality, with the sector paying three times more than it should do. UKHospitality wants to see a lower, permanent and universal rate, or ‘multiplier’, for hospitality businesses.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said:

‘Hospitality businesses are facing a devastating cliff-edge next April, when many will see their bills quadruple.

‘The scale of this almost billion-pound tax bombshell is just not viable. Many will face risk of closure, be forced to let people go to stay afloat, or shelve their investment plans.

‘There has to be a solution that avoids this cliff edge, and a lower, permanent and universal multiplier for hospitality would deliver that.

‘Not only would it give certainty and stability to businesses, but it would allow the government to begin delivering on its own manifesto commitment.

‘At the Budget, the Chancellor can choose to act and take the brakes off the sector’s growth by avoiding this cliff-edge. I hope she does just that because inaction could be fatal.’

Internet links: UKHospitality