ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY TIMES ON 02.03.2025
OpEd by Alex Baldock, Currys CEO
The government’s planned laws, Make Work Pay, will hit part-time employees and their would-be employers, says the boss of Currys.
Josh needed a job. But he had no qualifications, limited time (as a student), and no experience. As for millions of others, a part-time job in retail gave Josh entry to the world of work, in his case in Currys’ Warrington store. It gave him the start and the flexibility he needed. Today, eight years on, Josh is a manager. He’s a changed man, self-assured, accomplished and ambitious. And all from that first part-time contract at a good employer.
There are thousands like the younger Josh at Currys — students, carers, working parents, older people returning to work — whose door to employment was opened by a good part-time job. And that door could soon be slammed shut.
Of course, nobody wants it shut. The government hopes to get more people back in work, and more growth. Retailers, who employ about 10 per cent of the UK workforce — three million people — want the same. But, already, part-time jobs are teetering on the edge of becoming unviable. The budget’s jobs tax increased their cost by 13 per cent, on top of an already unsustainable tax burden. This means that even successful businesses such as Currys will create fewer jobs: the very roles best-suited to those people the government is trying to coax back into the workforce. And now employment law changes threaten to make things worse.
It’s not as if businesses like Currys need to be told to be good employers. It’s not just that we’re proud to do the right thing, to be ranked in the top 5 per cent of companies worldwide in colleague engagement, to invest millions in skills, tools, wellbeing, culture and reward, with front-line pay up 29 per cent in three years. Being a good employer is a commercial imperative. Good businesses understand that it’s hard for the experience of the customer to be better than that of the colleague, and bust a gut to make themselves better places to work. It’s essential to Currys’ strengthening performance.
The government’s “Make Work Pay” plans seek to protect people against unscrupulous employers, and maybe 2 per cent of businesses do need reining in. But in doing so, why hobble the other 98 per cent? If the changes stopped at banning zero-hours contracts, no problem. But they’ve now sprawled far beyond that and threaten damaging unintended consequences, to nobody’s benefit. In fact, they would penalise responsible businesses and endanger the jobs of the very people they aim to help.
How? The proposals would mean that any company of scale would find itself in a state of perpetual collective consultation, with much unnecessary stress for colleagues and burdensome red tape for business. But it’s another part of the proposals that’s most concerning: so-called guaranteed hours. These are especially wrong-headed, penalising workers like the younger Josh and millions of others who benefit from flexible hours, making such jobs less viable and businesses less competitive.
You don’t need to be a retailer to know that stores have busy times and less busy times. Saturdays are busier than Mondays. December is busier than February. So flexibility isn’t just important for colleagues, it’s vital for businesses to have the right number of colleagues in place at the right time. It means we can serve customers well, keep prices down and turn a fair profit. It’s a fine balance to strike, for both colleagues and the business to get the working hours they need, but it’s what we do every week.
The new proposals drive a coach and horses through this delicate balance. They’d require employers to guarantee the same number of hours in the coming weeks as in the previous 12 weeks. It would mean retailers either having too many staff on the floor at quiet times, or too few when customers need their help. And, with 3 per cent profit margins, we just can’t afford to pay for hours we don’t need.
The government has been consulting on these proposals, and may announce its plans as soon as next week. Many business leaders have urged government to think again, or at least to allow opt-outs. I just hope that ministers have been listening. Beware of adding burdens and depressing growth at the very worst time. Beware of inadvertently making people poorer while seeking to protect them. Beware of making it harder, riskier and more expensive to employ people, meaning fewer people will be employed. Please let’s not slam the door on workers like the younger Josh.
Alex Baldock is chief executive of Currys