The workers' rights bill will lead to 'fewer jobs not better ones'
by Helen Dickinson · Mail OnlineHelen Dickinson is chief executive of the British Retail Consortium
Employment is one of the clearest tests of whether an economy is moving in the right direction.
When the economy is growing, demand is rising, and businesses have the confidence to invest - businesses will take on more people, wages will rise, and communities feel the benefit.
Conversely, when jobs start to fall, it is often a sign that employers are under pressure, costs are biting and the economy is not performing to its full potential.
That's why the latest ONS labour market data should set alarm bells ringing.
Unemployment has risen to a four-month high of 5.1 per cent, underlining the growing strain facing businesses.
With growth high on the Government's agenda, these figures underline the need for government and business to work together to unlock investment, boost employment and drive growth.
Across the economy, employers are grappling with rising costs, uncertainty and an increasingly complex policy environment.
Nowhere is that more visible than in retail - an industry found in every city, town and village, and the UK's largest private sector employer.
Retail sits at the heart of everyday life in Britain. Around one in twelve jobs are in retail, almost three million in total. It anchors our high streets and forms part of the fabric of communities.
For millions of people, retail is a first job, a route back into work, or a flexible opportunity that can work around life's other commitments.
Yet the longer-term picture for the sector is worrying. Latest ONS data shows that on a four-quarter average, retail employment stood at 2.82million in September 2025, 74,000 lower than a year earlier.
This is not an anomaly, but part of a sustained decline.
There are now 355,000 fewer jobs in retail than there were a decade ago. That is 355,000 fewer opportunities for flexible, local jobs that are open to all and available everywhere.
Retail has long provided accessible employment and economic stability across the country, but the opportunities available are slowly melting away.
Retail operates on exceptionally tight margins and is particularly exposed to rising costs.
Businesses are still absorbing recent increases in employer National Insurance Contributions and the National Living Wage, which has reduced the headroom to hire, invest and grow with confidence.
Those pressures show up quickly. Higher costs feed directly into hiring decisions, hours offered and investment plans, and over time translate into fewer jobs, fewer opportunities for working people and weaker high streets - particularly in towns where retail remains one of the main sources of local employment.
If government is serious about growth, it must start treating business as a genuine partner in delivering it. This means making policy with businesses, not foisting it on them.
Take the Employment Rights Bill, which has just passed through the Lords. Business supports the ambition to improve job quality and fairness at work, but those goals must be matched by policies that work in practice.
While many parts of the Bill can play an important role in strengthening worker protections and cracking down on bad employment practices, it also risks punishing responsible employers, landing them with additional constraints that will do little to help workers.
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Those parts of the Bill that reduce flexibility, add complexity or increase costs without reflecting how businesses actually operate, will mean at the end of the day there are fewer jobs, not better ones.
This is why the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned that the Employment Rights Bill could have a 'negative' impact on employment.
Good employment policy should give employers the confidence to hire, retain and train people.
Retail relies on a diverse workforce and flexible contracts to meet changing customer demand.
Undermining that flexibility risks pricing people out of work, particularly students, parents and older workers for whom retail provides an important route into employment.
Skills policy is another vital part of the growth equation. Retail is evolving rapidly, with growing demand for digital skills, logistics expertise and strong leadership.
Yet the current Apprenticeship Levy remains too rigid to meet those needs.
Despite significant contributions from retailers, around half of the retail industry's £250 million annual apprenticeship levy contribution goes unspent, even as businesses face an urgent need to upskill their workforce for the jobs of tomorrow.
Reforming the levy to allow greater flexibility would help retailers - and businesses more widely - invest in a broader range of high-quality training, support progression at all stages of a career and boost productivity.
That kind of reform would not only benefit workers, but strengthen the wider economy.
The risk now is that poorly aligned policies undermine job creation across the economy. But there is a better option.
With the right approach, government and business can work together to unlock investment, employment and growth.
Retail, and business more widely, stand ready to play their part - working hand in hand with government to deliver the growth the UK urgently needs.
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