Like many SMEs, you may have been struggling with recruitment and/or retention over the past couple of years.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, published in March 2023, show a near record high 75.7% employment rate and just 3.7% unemployed. With a 21.3% economic inactivity rate, and still more than one million job vacancies open, the feeling is there just aren’t enough available people to fill roles.
And so to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget: a “Back to work” Budget to remove some of the obstacles preventing certain groups from seeking employment. If you need a recruitment drive, positioning your business to be ready for the Chancellor’s measures may help you fill those elusive vacancies.
Here are our highlights for you to consider, including initiatives for employing working parents, the over-50s and migrants in the construction industry.
1. Better childcare support to get working-age parents back to work
After the dust has settled, this will probably prove to be the big one. A suite of measures were unveiled to make it easier and more financially worthwhile for parents to get back to work after starting a family.
Building on provisions already in place, working parents in England will be able to obtain 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year – from when their child is nine months old (so when statutory maternity benefits end for many) up until they start school.
This will be complemented by a reduction in staff-to-child ratios for two-year-olds and additional budget for local authorities to provide wraparound care (8am – 6pm) at schools, to align drop-offs and pick-ups better to the traditional working day.
These measures will particularly help mothers get back to work, unlocking vital skills and experience that are so often lost from the labour market due to the pressures of family life.
Two things to watch out for: It’s not all happening at once. The extra child care hours will only start to be introduced in April 2024, and will be fully rolled out in September 2025. The support is also only targeted around the 38 weeks of the school year.
Although some workarounds can be made around school holidays, like stretching their free hours entitlement thinner beyond the 38 weeks, consideration may need to go into how your roles can accommodate school holidays. You can hardly imagine schools being ordered to remain open!
For now, think how roles can be designed to appeal to parents who will benefit from these initiatives. Term-time only or a flexible job share may work for some employers.
2. Returnerships – encouraging the over 50s to stay in work
Another headline grabber in the budget was the launch of so-called returnerships – a kind of apprenticeship designed especially for over-50s who have left, or are considering leaving, employment, but still have so much to give.
The idea is that they will recognise existing skills and experience to provide fast-track retraining, making the prospect of a change in career post-50 more appealing.
There is a welcome opportunity for employers to engage with older candidates. More details are yet to be released, but for now you could start exploring with apprenticeship companies how programmes could be set up for your business.
If you do not already employ people in their 50s and beyond, think also about how their needs in the workplace may differ from younger employees and what benefits age diversity may bring to you.
3. Shortage Occupation List (SOL) to be expanded for construction
This one is sector specific for now. Construction is one industry which has been hit particularly hard with recruitment issues. In response, following recommendations by the Migration Advisory Committee, five construction occupations will be added to the SOL in the summer, making it easier for construction companies to employ economic migrants. Talk to us if you want to understand more about the rules around employing migrants.
A wider review by the Migration Advisory Committee will be published in the Autumn which we will keep you posted on.
Further help with recruitment
While not every measure will be right for every business, it is good to see a few options on the table for tackling workforce shortages over the next two years. The above three initiatives are part of a wider package that also includes investment in occupational health. SME employers may find there are further opportunities but also challenges that come with this.
If you would like help assessing how you can take advantage of these opportunities for your business, please get in touch with your local HR Dept.
