PRESS RELEASE : Government slashes up to £1bn a year of business burdens [November 2023]

• Reforms allow businesses additional freedoms while retaining the UK’s world leading workers’ rights
• Proposals include reducing record keeping requirements around Working Time Regulations and simplifying the calculation of holiday pay and entitlement

British businesses could save up to £1 billion a year as the Government confirms plans to remove unnecessary and outdated bureaucracy following our exit from the EU.

The Government has today [Wednesday 8 November] announced amendments to several retained EU laws to ensure UK regulations are brought up to date and tailored to the needs of businesses, freeing up firms to refocus their time and money elsewhere to help create jobs.

The reforms will see the reduction of time-consuming reporting requirements and the simplifying of annual leave and holiday pay calculations under the Working Time Regulations as well as the streamlining of regulations that apply when a business transfers to a new owner.

These proposals don’t change existing workers’ rights in the UK, which remain some of the best in the world, and instead remove unnecessary bureaucracy in the way those rights operate, allowing business to benefit from the additional freedoms we have through Brexit.

Business Minister, Kevin Hollinrake said:

These reforms ensure our employment regulations are fit for purpose while maintaining our strong record on workers’ rights, which are some of the highest in the world.

Seizing these benefits of Brexit, including a saving of £1 billion for businesses, will support the private sector and workers alike and are vital to stimulating economic growth, innovation and job creation.

Earlier this year, the Government launched a consultation on three areas for reform with the removal of unnecessary bureaucracy including:

• Record keeping requirements under the Working Time Regulations
• Simplifying annual leave and holiday pay calculations in the Working Time Regulations
• Consultation requirements under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment), or ‘TUPE’, Regulations

The Government also launched a consultation in January 2023 on calculating annual leave entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers.

The reforms confirmed today follow both consultations and will address concerns from businesses by helping to simplify the calculation of holiday entitlement for employers and make entitlement clearer for all irregular hours and part-year workers.

FSB National Chair Martin McTague said:

We welcome these sensible changes, striking a balance for workers while offering clarity for employers. It’s good to see the Government cutting through excessive burdens without losing the benefits of regulations.

We’re eager to see a system that’s clear-cut, cost-effective and easy for small businesses to roll out, so these announcements are a crucial step forward.