Labour Minister Cites Supermarket Giant and Global Services Company as ‘Small Businesses’ in Employment Bill Farce – Guido Fawkes

Labour Minister Cites Supermarket Giant and Global Services Company as ‘Small Businesses’ in Employment Bill Farce

MPs are thrashing out the final stages of Labour’s much-hated ‘Union’ Employment Rights Bill in the Commons today. The latest measures hand even more power to the unions while punishing employers, with the Federation of Small Businesses warning two-thirds of SMEs are now holding back on hiring, and a third may be forced to cut jobs. So much for Starmer’s promise to “rearm the nation” with thriving small businesses…

Employment rights minister Justin Madders was wheeled out to defend the bill. When pressed to name any small business that actually supports it, he confidently cited… the Co-op, Centrica, and Richer Sounds. Not exactly your local corner shop. For context:

• The Co-op employs over 62,000 people and boasts an £11.5 billion annual turnover. It’s also owned by its ‘members’ (employees and customers).
• Centrica has 21,000 employees worldwide.
• Richer Sounds turned over £36 million last year and employs 522. Its owner handed 60% of the company to its employees.

According to the government’s own definition, an SME is a firm that has fewer than 250 employees. Madders also claimed the British Chamber of Commerce backed the Bill. He must have missed the BCC’s Director General warning it would “create huge costs for firms, hamper growth, restrict recruitment, and lead to job losses.” As one MP quipped, perhaps Labour are expecting these big businesses to end up as small ones by the time this Parliament is over…