The Autumn Budget 2026 has prompted reaction from employers, recruiters, employment lawyers and workforce specialists. Across the responses, businesses welcome measures aimed at investment, skills and employment, but say confidence to hire will depend on the detail and on longer-term certainty.
Key figures
- £20.4bn further funding announced for the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank
- 70,000 additional retail, hospitality and leisure businesses expected to be exempt from business rates
- 66% of workers believe they need to leave their employer to progress their careers
- 8% year-on-year fall in UK job postings, according to Indeed data
Key takeaway
The Budget offers targeted support for growth, skills and participation, but contributors say employers still need lower costs, clearer rules and the confidence to translate announcements into sustained hiring and investment.
Hiring, costs and early careers
Jill Summers, Chief of Professional Services, Clevry
“These are welcome signals, but this is a Budget of intent rather than impact.
Re-establishing the Union Learning Fund and investing £100 million in local apprenticeship services are sensible moves, and refusing to write off nearly a million young people is the right stance.
But the Union Learning Fund doesn’t start until 2027-28 and the white paper is still to come, so much of the heavy lifting has been deferred.
The bigger issue is hiring demand.
The OBR expects unemployment to rise to 5.1% next year, and cautious employers won’t take chances on young people with thin CVs.
Skills and potential-based hiring using validated assessments open doors that CV screening closes.”
Mark Rothwell, Chief Executive, Furza
“Many employers will be disappointed that the Chancellor’s first Budget didn’t extend employer National Insurance relief to all under-25s. MPs, the British Chambers of Commerce and businesses across the country had made the case for it, and it would have been a practical way to support youth employment at a critical time.
In the meantime, the case for early-career hiring remains strong. Developing talent internally reduces reliance on a competitive and costly market for experienced hires, and gives businesses people trained in their own ways of working from day one.”
Dan Challis, Group Sales Director, Gi Group
“Employers are facing one of the most difficult labour markets where the cost of hiring has risen far faster than confidence to hire. Today’s Budget just doesn’t go far enough for employers. While a near 4% rise in the National Living Wage is fantastic for employees, it poses a significant challenge for employers.”
Gavin Bhudia-Luke, Delivery Director, INTOO
“Today’s Budget goes some way to helping create conditions for employment, but employers still have the financial burden and lack the confidence to hire. People equally need the skills and support to make the most of any created opportunities.
Creating a route into work is only the first step.”
Ben Debnam, Director, Nigel Wright Group
“Over the last six months we’ve seen confidence returning to business leaders to execute change, transformation and succession planning. Nothing in today’s Budget should deter people from continuing this positive momentum.
However, we’ll be watching to see how the market will respond to the minimum wage increase, with businesses continually arguing that hiring young people is becoming too expensive.”
Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist, Indeed
“A largely ‘steady as she goes’ Budget without major curveballs allows employers to plan with a little more certainty. Measures to slow minimum wage increases for younger workers and to expand apprenticeship support are sensible steps towards getting more young people into employment.
But support for jobseekers only goes so far if employers aren’t hiring. Indeed data shows UK job postings are down 8% year-on-year and remain almost a third below their 2020 baseline.”
Kevin Fitzgerald, UK Managing Director, Employment Hero
“Business rates relief for many more of Britain's SME is welcome news. Alongside those who called for business rates relief, nearly half also asked for support with hiring and training new staff and apprentices.
A 3.9% increase in National Minimum Wage will make some employers nervous.”
Skills, mobility and AI
Dominic Holmes, Principal, Value & Strategy EMEA, Cornerstone
“It was great to see the investment in skills in the 2026 Autumn Budget, especially expanding local apprenticeship services across England. Now the focus must be on who actually benefits.
Those in the lowest income brackets, typically early-career or entry-level employees, are the least likely to get structured AI or skills training.”
Mark Logan, CEO, Jitterbit
“The move to long term funding for sovereign compute and the AI Security institute should cement that the UK is serious about its ambition to become a leader in this sphere of AI — with the downstream benefit of giving businesses greater confidence to develop the technology here.”
Investment, growth and business confidence
Joel Barnett, Founder and CEO, Fortune Hill
“We welcome the Chancellor’s decision to commit a further £20.4bn to the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank, alongside measures aimed at reducing barriers to growth.
Measures that encourage investment and give businesses greater confidence in the outlook should help create more room for expansion and hiring.
If today’s measures give businesses more certainty and greater room to invest, I would expect some of the senior appointments and transformation plans that have been sitting on hold to start moving again.”
Max Wilson, CEO and Co-Founder, Pocket Storage
“Taking another 70,000 businesses out of paying rates altogether could make a real difference, particularly for independent operators already working with tight margins.
We need a business rates system that gives entrepreneurs the confidence to invest in new locations, create jobs and expand their operations.”
Paul Joyce, Partner, LAVA Advisory Partners
“Business owners would rather take an underwhelming Budget over more upheaval or uncertainty.
A clear system for finding and applying for that support deserves as much attention as the amount being allocated.”
Employment law, parental support and culture
Rena Magdani, Partner and National Head of Employment, Pensions and Immigration, Freeths
“While we await the detail, the extension of two weeks’ paternity pay to self-employed fathers and partners is a significant development. The Government will need to set out how eligibility will be determined and how the scheme will operate in practice.”
Chris Jones, Employment Partner, Paul Hastings
“For businesses facing rising employment costs, the Budget’s commitment to avoid broad-based tax rises offers some reassurance. But stability is not the same as making it more affordable to recruit.
Against the backdrop of employment law reforms, employers should look at recruitment, pay and training together.”
Chris Weaver, Employment Partner, Payne Hicks Beach
“One unintended consequence could be employers extending notice periods or relying more heavily on garden leave to keep staff away from competitors.”
Jasmine Dhillon, Employment Law Partner, Spencer West LLP
“The government's announcement about non-compete clauses is a significant development in the employment law landscape.
The detail will be crucial.”
Dr Debbie Bayntun-Lees, Professor of Organisational Development and Leadership, Hult International Business School
“There is a real opportunity for this funding to make a difference, provided it is invested in changing workplace cultures and attitudes, rather than simply delivering one-off training or introducing more policies.”
International talent and workforce planning
Shuyeb Muquit, UK Government Affairs Strategy Director, Fragomen
“Today’s Budget provides a clearer picture of the Government’s direction on business immigration, combining tighter access at lower skill levels with a series of measures intended to attract and retain highly skilled international talent.”
Lawrence Lupin, Partner, Spencer West LLP
“The Government has announced several proposals aimed at attracting and retaining international talent. These are welcome developments, particularly for businesses struggling to recruit the skills they need.”
Financial resilience
Jonathan Attia, CEO, Pluxee UK
“The Budget offers some welcome tactical relief, particularly for lower-income households, through support with energy bills, council tax and the minimum wage. But it’s difficult to argue that it fundamentally changes the financial outlook for most working people.”
Contributor comments have been supplied to Onrec in response to the Autumn Budget 2026.
