| Debates about labour market flexibility in the UK have appeared polarised. Business organisations consider that an increasing burden of regulation is constraining employers' ability to run their companies efficiently; whereas trade unions have been rather uneasy with the notion of labour market flexibility, which has at times appeared as a synonym for making it easier for companies to hire and fire. We are not convinced that the burden of regulation is excessive or damaging to competitiveness at present. But we do not argue for significant extra regulation: we support the principles of flexibility allied to social cohesion set out in the Lisbon Agenda.
The process for reviewing the level of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) has been very successful and we support the Low Pay Commission's pragmatic approach. We also welcome the extension of the Minimum Wage to 16 and 17 year old workers, albeit at a lower rate. We warn against removing the lower rate for 18-21 year olds immediately though expect its continued convergence with the full NMW rate.
Although there are abuses in the area of the employment of temporary workers, we are not convinced the Agency Workers Directive represents the right way to address these. Employers' concerns have focussed on the period, currently set at six weeks, after which agency workers will be entitled to equivalent pay and conditions to their permanently employed colleagues. We think that the scope of the directive is more important. Agency workers should be entitled to equivalent working conditions immediately but we think there is fundamental difficulty in determining and enforcing an 'equal pay rate'.
We are not convinced by the arguments for retaining the opt-out from the Working Time Directive, which we consider has enough flexibility to accommodate the needs of business. We are pleased that the right to request flexible working for the parents of young children has been well received and welcome the proposal that it should be extended to all those with caring responsibilities. With the numbers of working mothers rising and an ageing population, employers will find that accommodating the caring obligations of their employees is a necessity, not a luxury.
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