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Finance (No. 4) Bill

No one is suggesting that we should try to encourage some sort of sweatshop regime; but equally, during these difficult economic times, there is a tendency for businesses—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—to batten down the hatches. We want to encourage them to take the risk—““Yes, let's take on an extra employee. Maybe some more business is coming through””; ““Okay, but will we be able to expand in three or six months' time?””; ““Let's try and take employees on.”” The difficulty for small and medium-sized enterprises is not the idea of employment rights, but that the difficulties and costs of taking on new employees—particularly young employees—become so overwhelming that there is a massive disincentive so to do.