ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY MAIL ON 24.03.2025
OpEd by Alex Baldock, Currys CEO
The Government wants to cut the welfare bill and get Britain back to work.
It's a huge task. Three million people of working age are out of work because of poor mental or physical health, up a million since the pandemic. Most worryingly, nearly a million 16 to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training (so-called NEETs). These numbers are already well out of line with other countries and set to climb.
The Prime Minister sees this as a moral and economic emergency. He has even warned that we are in danger of creating a 'lost generation'. He's not alone in despairing of this waste of human potential. According to the Good Growth Foundation think-tank, over 80 per cent of people on sickness and disability benefits want a job. They just need help – and somewhere to work.
The good news for the Government? The perfect solution is staring it in the face. The UK's retail industry already employs three million people and a further 2.7 million indirectly, making it by far the biggest private-sector employer. These jobs are in all corners of the UK and provide the flexible and part-time roles ideal for young NEETs looking to break into the workforce or welfare claimants determined to come off benefits.
Unfortunately, at the very time the Government says it wants more people to get back to work, it has hit employers with a triple whammy. Companies employing part-time workers have been hit hard by the hike in National Insurance. Then there's the big increase in the living wage. And finally, the promised business rates 'relief' that actually increased many bills. This adds up to an increase in costs for already over-burdened retailers of a whopping £7billion.
Now the Employment Rights Bill threatens to make things still worse with 'guaranteed hours' for workers. Since shops are busier at some times than others, we need to adjust employee numbers accordingly. But the Bill threatens to force retailers to pay staff for hours that we don't need and –with gossamer-thin 3 per cent profit margins – we can't afford. Even strong retailers like Currys will have to hire fewer people.
This is the 'perfect storm' of new costs and red tape that retailers, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Primark and B&Q, have already warned will put 300,000 jobs at risk. All this when retailers could instead be gearing up to hire more people.
There's still time for the Government to think again. The Chancellor could use this week's Spring Statement to announce concrete measures she knows would help. These include phasing in the National Insurance hikes over a number of years, cancelling the business rates increase, accelerating the Government's excellent apprenticeship reforms and dropping 'guaranteed hours'.
All this would make it easier, less risky and less costly for retailers to hire people, with the result that we'd take on more. We want to help get Britain back to work and we're uniquely well-placed to do so. Please let us help.
Alex Baldock is chief executive of Currys