The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has urged policymakers to combine simpler employment taxes with a long-term workforce plan, arguing that fiscal changes alone will not resolve youth unemployment or skills shortages.
Responding to the Shadow Chancellor’s conference speech on 5 October, Shazia Ejaz, the REC’s director of campaigns, welcomed the focus on tax simplification and called for recruiters to be involved in developing employment policy.
Reducing complexity for employers
Ejaz pointed to the off-payroll working rules as an area where reform could reduce administrative demands and support labour market flexibility. These are the REC’s policy proposals, rather than an announcement of changes to existing rules.
“Tax cuts, welfare reform and deregulation can all play a role, but they are not a substitute for a long-term workforce plan.”
Shazia Ejaz, director of campaigns, REC
The REC has previously estimated that labour and skills shortages could cost the UK up to £39 billion in lost GDP annually. This is a modelled potential cost, not a measurement of output already lost this year.
Why it matters
For recruitment businesses, simpler administration would address only one part of the challenge. Employers also need access to skills and routes into work, making the connection between recruitment, training and workforce planning central to the debate.
Source: REC statement and Overcoming shortages research. Image: editorial illustration created for Onrec.
