Member Article

How 'back-to-work' was the Chancellor's Budget?

John Borland, Managing Director of PayEscape, a leading provider of cloud-based Payroll, HR and Time and Attendance Solutions, discusses whether Jeremy Hunt’s ‘back-to-work’ budget lived up to expecations.

“Arguably, the biggest question heading into this budget is whether the Chancellor could encourage the UK workforce back to full strength?

Only time will tell if Jeremy Hunt succeeded, but there were definitely measures announced that should have a positive impact on encouraging people back into work.

Any improvement on the current situation will be welcomed by companies, and we know from talking to the hundreds of employers we work with how big a struggle it has been recruiting new staff and filling vacancies. Most management teams will identify it as their biggest hurdle to growth.

Approximately 1.7 million of the 7 million-strong army of economically inactive people cite care provision as the key barrier to working. Extending childcare provisions to 30-hours of childcare per week to parents of all children over nine months should be a huge boost for business, particularly in the hospitality sector where there are major shortages.

Abolishing the pensions lifetime allowance was also an interesting move. Cynics might argue that this will only help the wealthy few, however, if there had been no movement on the £1.07m threshold you would have increasingly seen more middle earners reach that limit and take early retirement.

Mr Hunt’s decision to change the rules to allow individuals to seek work without the fear of losing their benefits should make a difference to the 2 million people currently inactive due to disability and long-term sickness.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .