REC response to Autumn Budget 2024

Commenting on today’s Autumn Budget 2024, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Chief Executive Neil Carberry said:

“The Chancellor had a difficult job today, navigating a challenging fiscal picture while maintaining support for the only thing that will improve her view – economic growth. Growth is delivered by businesses, and the mix of tax rises and other costs imposed on firms by the government will make getting there harder. Many business leaders will be feeling concerned about the direction of travel this evening.

“Reassuring businesses must now be about ensuring the additional contribution they are making will flow back to them in the form of better fundamentals in our economy: ease of doing business, shorter waiting lists, easier planning, new infrastructure and better access to low-cost investment capital. The Industrial Strategy matters to this - but it must deliver. If business is being asked to do its bit – government must also step up.

“We were pleased to see the labour market feature in the Chancellor’s comments. Additional funding to support labour market inclusion and address inactivity is welcome – but government programmes are always more effective when they work hand-in-hand with the private sector. Private sector employment businesses place over a million people into work every day – and are ready to help. If people are the engine of the UK’s growth, we need to invest in the workforce and the strategy that allows people to work the way they need to work.

“As an example, the government’s determination to run towards tough decisions should have included reforming NHS people management. We must do away with the existing dysfunction in how temporary staff - vital to service delivery - are procured. The current system works against itself by incentivising last-minute and short-term solutions. The REC stands ready to work with the Department of Health and Social Care on this. The need for agency staffing in the NHS isn’t going away, but there is a lot we can do to make it more sustainable for staff, trusts and agencies. This is not a political issue but a common-sense necessity to get the NHS delivering to the standard everyone wants, at a price that offers value for money.”

Neil Carberry added:

“The Chancellor is right to tackle issues around umbrella company compliance – but has chosen the wrong tool. Employment businesses are already some of the more heavily regulated businesses in the country, and responsibility for supply chain compliance will stretch them. Yet umbrella companies themselves are not regulated. This is long overdue and would deliver a much more level playing field.”

Notes to editors

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The REC is the voice of the recruitment industry, speaking up for great recruiters. We drive standards and empower recruitment businesses to build better futures for great candidates and themselves. We are champions of an industry which is fundamental to the strength of the UK economy.

Find out more about the Recruitment & Employment Confederation at www.rec.uk.com.