Latest news with #RupertSoames
Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Times
UK ‘needs regulatory overhaul' as firms complain of added burdens
The CBI has called for an overhaul of Britain's regulatory regime, with its president saying that 'we let complexity creep in, and courage leak out' of how businesses are overseen. Rupert Soames, CBI president, is expected to say that there needs to be a consensus between business and government to 'think more openly about risk appetite, while setting clear red lines for the protection of consumers and businesses'. In a speech he is due to give at a business event in London on Wednesday, Soames is planning to say that now is the right time for significant reform as the UK resets its relationship with the European Union. 'The UK has a golden opportunity to reduce both trade and regulatory barriers with the EU,
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Labour's ‘pub banter' ban is fixing a made-up problem
Rupert Soames, the outspoken CBI chief, hit the nail on the head last week when he told a union chief that businesses are often confronted with what he calls the 'doctor problem'. Doctors, he explained, spend the majority of their time with just 5pc of people who are ill. Like GPs, the HR headaches employers face typically stem from a tiny fraction of staff. His point was that parts of the looming Employment Rights Bill, which will strengthen rights for workers and trade unions, are completely unnecessary. 'You don't go and lock all 100 chickens in a coop, for the fear that one is going to go wrong,' he argued, mixing his metaphors somewhat. A key example of the overreach of the new Bill is its so-called 'pub banter' ban provision, which will force venues such as pubs and universities to do all they can to protect employees from non-sexual third-party harassment. In a nutshell, it means pub and restaurant bosses could find themselves policing customer conversations and any jokes that staff might find offensive. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has already warned that the proposed rules are too broad-brush and could lead to 'excessive limitations on debate'. But perhaps more importantly, there isn't actually much evidence that this is even an issue. The ban seems to be fixing a made-up problem. Free speech campaigner Lord Young will make this point at a Lords hearing on Monday, as the Bill continues to chug through the parliamentary process. He will pull out a survey from last year that shows that just 0.51pc of respondents reported experiencing non-sexual third-party harassment at work in the year to March. Policing something that appears to be a problem for just 0.51pc of workers could prove detrimental to already stretched small businesses such as family-owned pubs and restaurants, which work in boisterous environments and don't have hordes of HR and legal staff to support them. Lord Young will argue in the House of Lords today that such a rule could also have a much broader impact on culture, with football stadiums becoming like libraries and ''banter bouncers' in every beer garden'. Introducing red-tape to solve non-issues doesn't feel like a driver of economic growth, either. Why are we chewing over this 'Alice in Wonderland' clause, as one peer called it earlier this year, when there is so much more important stuff going on in the world? Cash-strapped companies are freezing hiring and sacking staff, while millions of Britons are still not working. Sickness is fuelling a worklessness crisis that incurs a huge cost to the economy. More men are giving up on work than in any other G7 nation. At a lunch last week, a group of recruiters were bemoaning the enormous amount of challenges facing the sector. Notably, nobody brought up offensive customers as an issue. There is a disconnect between the issues the Bill is trying to tackle and the real issues facing businesses, with Soames complaining that the Government has not been listening to business concerns. Ministers say the reforms will boost the economy by raising living standards and creating more job opportunities. In reality, cash-strapped businesses are cutting jobs, hiring people on temporary contracts and thinking twice about taking a chance on those with patchy CVs. Labour is doing itself no favours by pledging to combat a problem that barely exists and setting off a lot of huffing and puffing in the process. A huge amount of unnecessary attention has been thrown in the direction of this so-called pub banter crackdown. On the one side we have union chiefs arguing that those critical of it are just protecting 'their right to be offensive' – and I agree that 'banter' is often just a veil for rudeness – while on the other, critics insist that the clause will simply encourage people to 'sue for hurt feelings'. This is a valid concern, given that there were almost 50,000 employment tribunal cases waiting to be resolved at the end of last year. A hazy rule around overheard conversations could cause claims to snowball even further. To be fair to Labour, this isn't a totally out of the blue or novel idea. It was only in 2023 that Rishi Sunak was facing a Tory revolt over plans to introduce a law that would allow shop assistants, bar staff and doctors to sue their employers if a member of the public offended them at work. The same arguments were rolled out at the time, with senior Tories warning that the proposed law would lead to an explosion of litigation and force business owners to run their establishments like a 'police state'. Ministers decided to let the idea fall by the wayside after the legislation triggered a huge outpouring of Tory anger. Knowing all the arguments, Labour had the perfect chance to do more research to work out whether this law is really needed and pin down exactly what the issues are. When deciding that the legislation was needed, the party could have crafted a more precise law to avoid the kind of controversy Sunak's ideas triggered. Alas, ministers appear to have done none of this. I don't suspect they are actually trying to stop respectful debates about controversial issues taking place in pub gardens, but rather ensure that anyone who feels hurt by overheard 'banter' at work isn't ignored. But it's not a pressing issue, so let's move on to the stuff that really matters. 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Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour's ‘pub banter' ban is fixing a made-up problem
Rupert Soames, the outspoken CBI chief, hit the nail on the head last week when he told a union chief that businesses are often confronted with what he calls the 'doctor problem'. Doctors, he explained, spend the majority of their time with just 5pc of people who are ill. Like GPs, the HR headaches employers face typically stem from a tiny fraction of staff. His point was that parts of the looming Employment Rights Bill, which will strengthen rights for workers and trade unions, are completely unnecessary. 'You don't go and lock all 100 chickens in a coop, for the fear that one is going to go wrong,' he argued, mixing his metaphors somewhat. A key example of the overreach of the new Bill is its so-called 'pub banter' ban provision, which will force venues such as pubs and universities to do all they can to protect employees from non-sexual third-party harassment. In a nutshell, it means pub and restaurant bosses could find themselves policing customer conversations and any jokes that staff might find offensive. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has already warned that the proposed rules are too broad-brush and could lead to 'excessive limitations on debate'. But perhaps more importantly, there isn't actually much evidence that this is even an issue. The ban seems to be fixing a made-up problem. Free speech campaigner Lord Young will make this point at a Lords hearing on Monday, as the Bill continues to chug through the parliamentary process. He will pull out a survey from last year that shows that just 0.51pc of respondents reported experiencing non-sexual third-party harassment at work in the year to March. Policing something that appears to be a problem for just 0.51pc of workers could prove detrimental to already stretched small businesses such as family-owned pubs and restaurants, which work in boisterous environments and don't have hordes of HR and legal staff to support them. Lord Young will argue in the House of Lords today that such a rule could also have a much broader impact on culture, with football stadiums becoming like libraries and ''banter bouncers' in every beer garden'. Introducing red-tape to solve non-issues doesn't feel like a driver of economic growth, either. Why are we chewing over this 'Alice in Wonderland' clause, as one peer called it earlier this year, when there is so much more important stuff going on in the world? Cash-strapped companies are freezing hiring and sacking staff, while millions of Britons are still not working. Sickness is fuelling a worklessness crisis that incurs a huge cost to the economy. More men are giving up on work than in any other G7 nation. At a lunch last week, a group of recruiters were bemoaning the enormous amount of challenges facing the sector. Notably, nobody brought up offensive customers as an issue. There is a disconnect between the issues the Bill is trying to tackle and the real issues facing businesses, with Soames complaining that the Government has not been listening to business concerns. Ministers say the reforms will boost the economy by raising living standards and creating more job opportunities. In reality, cash-strapped businesses are cutting jobs, hiring people on temporary contracts and thinking twice about taking a chance on those with patchy CVs. Labour is doing itself no favours by pledging to combat a problem that barely exists and setting off a lot of huffing and puffing in the process. A huge amount of unnecessary attention has been thrown in the direction of this so-called pub banter crackdown. On the one side we have union chiefs arguing that those critical of it are just protecting 'their right to be offensive' – and I agree that 'banter' is often just a veil for rudeness – while on the other, critics insist that the clause will simply encourage people to 'sue for hurt feelings'. This is a valid concern, given that there were almost 50,000 employment tribunal cases waiting to be resolved at the end of last year. A hazy rule around overheard conversations could cause claims to snowball even further. To be fair to Labour, this isn't a totally out of the blue or novel idea. It was only in 2023 that Rishi Sunak was facing a Tory revolt over plans to introduce a law that would allow shop assistants, bar staff and doctors to sue their employers if a member of the public offended them at work. The same arguments were rolled out at the time, with senior Tories warning that the proposed law would lead to an explosion of litigation and force business owners to run their establishments like a 'police state'. Ministers decided to let the idea fall by the wayside after the legislation triggered a huge outpouring of Tory anger. Knowing all the arguments, Labour had the perfect chance to do more research to work out whether this law is really needed and pin down exactly what the issues are. When deciding that the legislation was needed, the party could have crafted a more precise law to avoid the kind of controversy Sunak's ideas triggered. Alas, ministers appear to have done none of this. I don't suspect they are actually trying to stop respectful debates about controversial issues taking place in pub gardens, but rather ensure that anyone who feels hurt by overheard 'banter' at work isn't ignored.
Telegraph
16-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Rayner's workers' rights reforms ‘will make Britain like jobless Spain'
Angela Rayner's worker's rights reforms risks triggering a surge in unemployment that will rival Spain, the president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned unions. Rupert Soames said Labour's Employment Rights Bill would make companies less willing to hire those with 'spotty CVs and [those on] benefits'. The CBI chief told union chief Paul Nowak during a debate on the reforms: 'I just humbly suggest you acknowledge that there is a risk that companies turn around and become less willing to employ people and we end up with an economy, for instance, like Spain.' Spain has the highest unemployment rate in Europe at almost 11pc. Youth unemployment is even higher, with more than a quarter of under-25s jobless. Mr Soames drew attention to the Spanish youth unemployment rate when highlighting the risks. Business leaders have repeatedly raised the alarm about the Government's employment rights overhaul, which is being overseen by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister. The reforms will empower unions and offer broader eligibility for sick pay, a greater entitlement to flexible work, a crackdown on zero-hour contracts and full employment rights from the first day in a job. While unions argue the changes will give workers a fairer deal, bosses fear the changes will tip the balance of power too much in favour of staff – and fear they will be caught up in a flood of tribunal claims. As a result, Mr Soames and others have warned that employers will be far more reluctant to take on new staff unless they are absolutely convinced of their abilities. In a heated exchange with Mr Nowak, Mr Soames predicted 'a lot more dispute', adding: 'Just ask yourself if that's really a good idea, in our economy – that that's what we want to go and do.' Speaking at a conference organised by workplace body Acas, the grandson of Winston Churchill said: '25 years ago the income per head in the UK was roughly the same as the US. Now it's less than the poorest state in the US. It is far less than Germany – something has gone wrong. 'Collectively we have a big problem here if our country has got massively poorer.' Mr Nowak argued Spain was starting to benefit from labour market reforms which came into effect in 2022. The Southern European nation has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and the IMF last year found that reforms introduced to tackle the amount of young people on unstable, temporary contracts had so far been successful in boosting permanent work. The union chief urged the Government not to water down its reforms, warning ministers against an 'Employment Rights Bill light'. The Bill is working its way though Parliament, with Lords currently examining the legislation.
The Independent
13-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Labour's growth slogans must be backed by action, warns CBI
British business is calling on the Government to help get the 'flywheel of the economy turning' with concrete strategies and policies as official output figures are expected to show a difficult end to 2024. Rupert Soames, chairman of the CBI business group, will say on Thursday that the Government's growth ambitions must be matched with action and that business confidence must be restored to spur on investment needed to support expansion. At a CBI Midlands business dinner event in Birmingham, he will say: 'There is not a business leader I have spoken to who does not wish the Government well in its ambition.' But he will add that slogans such as 'growth, growth, growth' must be backed by action on strategy and policy. 'To get growth going, we must get the flywheel of the economy turning,' he will say. 'Up and down the country businesses need to increase the rate of investment in growth, and they will only do that if they have confidence government policy will support them. 'In particular they need to see regulation such as planning become much more growth-friendly, and not to do anything to discourage employment,' he will say. Figures for gross domestic product (GDP) from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday morning are set to reveal a downbeat final quarter for the economy. The Bank of England warned last week that it expects GDP to contract by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024, following zero growth in the previous three months. This will leave annual GDP growth at a paltry 0.7%, according to analysts – far below initial forecasts from the start of the year. It will likely reinforce fears over stagnation, which is a potent combination of zero growth and high inflation. The Bank predicted last week that inflation would rise back up again and peak at a higher-than-expected 3.7% later in the summer. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made it her mission to see the economy grow, but there are fears that her move to hike national insurance contributions and the minimum wage will see businesses raise prices and slash jobs. The CBI is urging the Government to work with British firms to help gain back their trust. Mr Soames will say: 'The Budget may have worked to fill a hole in the public finances by significantly increasing taxes on business, but in filling one hole it has created another – in the confidence and trust of business… this is not conducive for encouraging businesses to invest. 'To restore business confidence, this government must make sure its policies… truly hang together in a way that makes sense for business.' Economists fear that anaemic growth is set to continue throughout the first half of 2025. Ellie Henderson, at Investec, said: 'We do not see a stark change of affairs in the immediate future, with only modest growth pencilled in for much of the first half of this year.' But she said the Government's pro-growth agenda should help buoy activity. She said: 'Should some of the reforms involved in this start to bear fruit, we could see a lift in economic optimism in the UK moving forward. 'And even if it takes time to complete some of the longer-term projects, the investment that is needed to deliver them will add to growth in the interim.'
