The government is only just beginning to wake up this truth. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Stephen Byers has of late evinced clear acknowledgement that red tape is strangling the goose that lays the golden egg. This is a welcome step forward. Where the NMW is concerned, the key problem for business lies in the timing and clarity of the guidance essential for businesses to comply fully. And the problem is set to worsen.
Much confusion remains over employee definition.
Businesses, for example, that have some workers on piecework, some hourly and some homeworkers may find that the costs of learning the regulations and applying systems which show they comply, add up to more than any additional wages they may have to find. Even the government seems confused - just three weeks before the introduction of the national minimum wage the Department of Trade and Industry issued its Detailed Guide to the National Minimum Wage. As a result, the Chamber Advice Line has had to produce a guide to the guidance for employers. The BCC will continue to pressure ministers to reduce the legislative burdens on business. We believe that the first job of the proposed Small Business Service should be to review the burdens imposed on small firms by measures including the NMW, the Working Time and Parental Leave directives, in order to give employers and jobs a chance.