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Department for Business to help 38,334 East Midlands small businesses save 'millions'. Businesses in East Midlands are being urged to save time and money on the cost of employing staff, as part of a campaign being launched today.
The Department for Business' 'Employing People' campaign follows recent research, which showed that businesses were spending unnecessary time and money complying with employment law, often outsourcing for expensive advice which they could be getting for free.
Kieran O'Keeffe, Senior Policy Adviser at the BCC said, "Our members - particularly if they are smaller firms- always struggle with employment law. Anything that the Government can do to promote simple guidance that cuts out unnecessary expense and paperwork is most welcome."
38,334 businesses in the region will be contacted to let them know how to make savings by using Business Link's online tools, calculators and interactive guides, to help them understand their legal obligations and reduce unnecessary duplication of materials and wasted effort.
Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said that the campaign was being launched at a time when, "every penny counts for businesses. Instead of spending money on buying in professional advice on employment law, people can access to a range of quick and easy online documents. Complying with legislation can be complex at times but employment law is often easier than business owners think."
McFadden used the example of producing written statements of employment as being a significant burden for employers in terms of both time and money, with many businesses are paying external advisers to draw these up for them.
"In the last year, however, over 40,000 firms have benefited from switching to the written statement tool we have provided - each of them saving around £120 every time that they do so," says McFadden.
The Government aims to reduce employment law admin burdens on businesses by £365m per annum by May 2010.
By engaging with key business stakeholders such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the campaign will reach out to businesses of all sizes across a variety of sectors, offering simple, practical advice and guidance on the full range of employment issues, from drafting documents to simplifying record-keeping.
As part of this outreach, the Department for Business recently provided over 300 stakeholder organisations with a toolkit to help their members demystify some of the practices around employment law.
Business response:
Paul Jaggard, Director of Nottinghamshire based 'Get Back Supplies' Ltd, the East Midlands back problem and Work Related Upper Limb Disorder specialist, says: "I'm always worried I'm doing the wrong thing when it comes to recruitment. I have previously sought costly specialist external advice as I didn't feel I had the knowledge or the confidence to do it myself. I'm glad I have this pack now though to help explain things to me and make me realise that perhaps it's not such a minefield after all."
Katja Hall, the CBI's Director of Employment policy, said: "This is a welcome campaign, offering businesses helpful advice about how they can cut down on admin associated with employing people. Small firms in particular will appreciate the government's support and guidance being in one place, with the free tools a cost effective way to reduce time spent calculating things like sick pay."
Stephen Robertson, Director-General of the BRC, said, "In tougher economic times, employers can't afford to throw away money by getting caught up doing unnecessary paperwork. So we welcome the Government's moves to help employers to save money and time on their employment law obligations. That's why we are playing a key role in helping design and develop the tools and guidance on the businesslink.gov website to make sure that it offers just what businesses need."
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