Question

Question One – If you were the head of a task force studying ways to lighten the regulatory load on business without jeopardizing social gains made as a result of existing regulations, what three key recommendations would you want to make?

Question Two – Based on what we have discussed in class plus information from the text, present a brief argument supporting the use of government regulation in any key area of our personal lives. List three key regulatory issues that would define your argument.

Answer 1

1. National Minimum Wage: While many micro businesses will or can pay in excess of the National Minimal Wage, not all are in a position to, due to their individual circumstances or the nature of their industry— or their location. In any case it should be fixed.
2. Employers Liability Insurance: As soon as an employer takes on a member of staff they are required to take out Employers Liability Insurance. At a minimum this appears to cost small shops and pubs around £1500 per year and this is the case regardless of whether they employ 1 or 4 staff. Although the legal requirement is that employers have to be covered for £5 million, insurers are reported as providing quotes on the basis of £10 million.
3. Employing young people or apprentices:Employing newspaper boys is a real hassle- they have to get forms signed and circulated to everyone from parents, the Local Authority through to the child's school and by the time this is completed, the child no longer wants the job. Similarly the obligation on newsagents to make sure that bike safety is maintained, that the child gets home OK etc, works against making it a worthwhile proposition. The obligations to check anyone in contact with children has created an environment where businesses are unclear what this regulation extends to.
4. Maternity/Paternity Obligations: Although businesses complained about maternity and paternity payments, many recognised that maternity leave is a legitimate right but most were less happy about paternity leave. The key issue many businesses had was that they were required to hold positions open for women, who often didn’t return, keep them informed, or returned late. They said that for a very small employer having to keep positions open created real pressures. It made it difficult to recruit someone for a short period and that they couldn’t afford the time it takes to get a new staff member up to speed, especially because they find that if someone comes in to cover a maternity position, the person will naturally be looking for a permanent full time job, so frequently left within a short period of time.