Campaigning business leader Simon Boyd has called on the government to create better regulation rather than more damaging laws.
He has written to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, and copied his letter across political parties, warning that red tape is stifling SMEs’ ability to grow, deliver increased tax take to the Exchequer and drive social mobility.
Simon is managing director of Dorset-based global structural steel firm REIDsteel, a trustee of the Jobs Foundation, a non-executive director of Dorset Chamber and was South West regional chairman of Business for Britain.
His comments follow the announcement of the Employment Rights Bill in the King’s Speech introducing a host of reforms in the workplace and after Mr Reynolds defended measures to support flexible working.
Simon said: “If our government is serious about growth, it needs to stimulate the business economy.
“While blanket regulation and economic policy may be less burdensome for large businesses, multi-nationals and the public sector, SMEs suffer disproportionally.
“A one-size-fits-all approach does not work and acts as a straitjacket on SMEs, damaging their ability to grow and develop.
“It is anti-competitive and punishes SMEs by placing them at a disadvantage to those larger businesses who can more easily absorb the cost and the disruptive impact on their everyday working practices and profitability.
“Increased regulation of the kind announced in the Employment Rights Bill will only do more damage.
“Government should be eradicating regulations that are not fit for purpose and damage business.”
SMEs are the backbone of business in this country. According to figures of May 2024 from the House of Commons Library, there were 5.51 million SMEs in the UK as of 2023.
This represents more than 99% of the business population. They account for 61% of UK private sector employment and around half of all business turnover, some £2.4 trillion.
Simon said that the value of SMEs appears to have been ignored by successive governments in favour of support for the financial sector and big business.
He has called for a meeting with Mr Reynolds to discuss better regulation and greater access to affordable finance for SMEs.
Simon called for more financial backing when he was among the speakers at a manifesto launch at Parliament by the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) earlier this year.
Simon continued in his letter: “Better regulation and targeted support for SMEs will boost productivity, stimulate growth, and create the higher-skilled, higher-paid workforce which we all desire.
“This will ultimately deliver increased tax take to the Exchequer and drive social mobility.
“It is not government that lifts people out of poverty, but business. Businesses provide employment and investment in people. It is our business community that can deliver for the country provided they are properly supported by government.”
The latest CBI/Pertemps Employment Trends Survey found that 62% of respondents believe that the UK will become a slightly or much less attractive place to do business in the next five years if the government’s employment law reforms go through.
The Employment Rights Bill is expected to include a right to flexible working by ‘default’, a ban on zero hours contracts, full employment rights from day one and new rules surrounding parental leave and sick pay. There is even talk of a four-day week.
Christchurch-based REIDsteel is a medium-sized enterprise and structural steel business with 130 people and a multi-million pound UK supply chain which has been trading for 105 years worldwide
The Jobs Foundation is a charity which champions ‘business as a force for good’ which drives social mobility and lifts people out of poverty.
ENDS
