FSB: New rules stop small businesses from hiring

Date: 13th April 2010

Small businesses in the UK are being prevented from hiring new staff due to new rules on long-term sick leave.

This is the view of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which said a European Court of Justice ruling under the Working Time Directive means a number of firms will be less likely to take on staff.

The ruling means that statutory entitlement to paid annual leave will continue in cases of long-term sickness.

A poll of 1,400 small businesses, carried out by the FSB and ICM, showed that 38 per cent of businesses will now be more cautious about taking on staff with health problems.

The research also revealed that a further 17 per cent will be more likely to dismiss staff on long-term sick leave.

John Walker, national chairman of the FSB, said: "It is well known that small firms are the country's key employers and have done all they can to retain their employees and take on new staff throughout the recession.

"However, measures put in place by the European Court of Justice on sick leave are hampering small businesses' ability to do the job at hand and help tackle unemployment - which is at its highest for 17 years."

Posted by Thomas Fletcher