'Focus on growth must remain Government focus'

I read with interest the new Government’s plans for a change to employment rights and how it will affect businesses – from new rights for those on zero-hour contracts through to changes to the protections around unfair dismissal.

Like most, I have been impressed with the pro-business, pro-growth messaging that the Government adopted both before and after the General Election.

However, in my view and in that of the British Chambers of Commerce, they should proceed with caution when it comes to the Employment Rights Bill.

Those of us who have operated a small business in the right way want to do right by all of our employees and want the success of the company to benefit everyone. That’s how all good businesses should operate.

We all know that some companies don’t operate that way but, in my opinion, they are in the minority. Over recent years, I think there has been an even bigger realisation that gaining buy-in from your workforce and being as flexible as possible fosters a better atmosphere and improves your chances to grow.

So, while rules and regulations are required to make sure workers have rights and can’t be exploited, we have to make sure that good businesses aren’t caught out by the new regulations and that, in a time when simply surviving has been an uphill battle for many firms, they are not wrapped up in even more red tape.

It’s in everyone’s interest for businesses and the economy to grow and we don’t want that stifled – particularly when the Government has put so much emphasis on growth being a driver for generating more income for public spending.

I am sure this will be a topic for discussion at our next Local Business Forum on Friday, September 13 at Draycote Hotel.

On the subject of events, I’d just like to flag a couple more for your diary as the Chamber calendar looks extremely busy over the coming months.

On September 19, the Chamber is hosting the Green Futures: Expo and Summit at Ashorne Hill and is a chance to hear from a range of experts and meet businesses in this field who might be able to support the transition towards net zero.

Then, on October 11, it is the Chamber’s International Trade Summit at the Holiday Inn, Walsgrave, Coventry, which will provide an insight on how to either begin trading overseas or to expand the markets you operate in if you are already exporting.

For more information on those events or to book on, go to: www.cw-chamber.co.uk/events/