85% of British SME bosses support “right to switch off”

The new legislation suggested in the Employment Rights Bill and New Deal for Working People has been the topic of hot debate in the weeks since the Labour government came to power. 

We asked over 500 leaders of small and medium-sized businesses how they felt about the proposed new laws.

The findings at-a-glance:

• 85% of British SME bosses with HR responsibilities say staff should have the “right to switch off”, and 80% say the Employment Rights Bill is a positive step forward for staff
• The findings come following suggestions that implementing the Bill may be delayed following opposition from some business groups
• Unlike bigger firms, SME bosses say the legislation will be good for business, with 68% believing the Employment Rights Bill will positively impact productivity
• But 61% of SME leaders also admit that implementing the Employment Rights Bill to significantly add to their workload

Our research found that the vast majority (85%) of British SME bosses with HR responsibilities support proposals to give staff the “right to switch off”, with 4 in 5 (80%) believing the Employment Rights Bill is a positive step forward for employees. The findings come as debate around the Bill ramps up. 

We wanted to to uncover sentiment towards new workers’ rights amongst bosses who will be steering through new rule changes at SMEs, ahead of the Employment Rights Bill being laid in parliament. This is expected to take place in the coming weeks, although the implementation of rule changes in practice may be delayed following pressure from certain business leaders. 

Changes are set to include day-one rights to request flexibility and 4-day weeks, access to parental leave, and the “right to switch off” - which will empower staff to disconnect from work outside regular hours and on weekends. However some reports suggest the initial proposals may be watered down following opposition.

SMEs account for 99.9% of all businesses, three-fifths of employment, and over half of private sector turnover in the UK. 

To conduct this research, we surveyed 526 senior leaders at British SMEs (with up to 250 employees) whose personal responsibilities include HR; such as CEOs, Founders, and HR Directors. 

SME bosses support the right to switch off

We asked SME leaders whether staff should have the right to disconnect from work communications outside working hours. We discovered:

• 41% of SME leaders ‘strongly agree’ that staff should have the right to switch off
• An additional 44% ‘agree’ that staff should be empowered to disconnect from work
• Just 5% ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with the right to disconnect 

This is at odds with sentiment amongst bosses at big businesses. A separate survey conducted by the IOD, which took into account the views of Directors at companies of all sizes, recently found that 58% opposed plans to restrict contact with staff outside of working hours. 

SME bosses think the Employment Rights Bill will benefit their organisation

Bigger firms’ concerns that Employment Rights Bill proposals will be bad for business also appear to be unrepresentative of the views of SME bosses. The vast majority of the leaders we surveyed believe the Employment Rights Bill will significantly benefit their organisations, as well as being a positive step forward for staff:

• 68% agree that the Employment Rights Bill will positively impact productivity at their organisation
• 69% agree that the legislation will positively impact retention
• 72% agree’ that it will benefit wellbeing

In response to the findings, Gareth Burrows, Founder and MD at Breathe, comments:

“SMEs are the lifeblood of Britain's business ecosystem. Yet the voices of SME leaders are often unrepresented and drowned out by those of bosses at bigger businesses. Now, they’re loud and clear: our research shows that SMEs overwhelmingly support new workers’ rights, and expect both their teams and businesses to benefit from the changes once they are implemented. This isn’t to say that the road ahead will be easy for those who are tasked with steering these crucial changes through millions of British SMEs.”

Employment Rights Bill will add to workloads 

63% of SME leaders surveyed agree that changes proposed within the Employment Rights Bill will disproportionately impact small and medium-sized businesses in terms of cost and time to implement. Just 14% disagreed that implementing the changes will disproportionately impact SMEs. This echoes concerns raised by HR leaders last week that SMEs “cannot afford” regulatory pressures.

In addition, 61% of survey respondents agreed that implementing the Employment Rights Bill will significantly add to their workload and/or that of their HR team. Just 15% disagreed that implementing the changes would increase their and/or their HR teams workloads, suggesting that the expected benefits for employees and businesses could come at the cost of those tasked with steering through the changes. 

Gareth Burrows, Founder and MD of Breathe, adds: 

“SME leaders are in a difficult position. Our survey shows that they want the best for staff. But they also recognise the impact implementing the Employment Rights Bill is going to have on their day-to-day.

At Breathe HR, we don’t believe the burden of responsibility for navigating these monumental policy changes should sit heavily on the shoulders of SMEs. Which is why we're on hand to help SME leaders and People teams understand and implement the changes as they come into effect - from getting their heads around the legal implications, to communicating new policies to teams and managing requests for leave.

“We firmly believe leaders responsible for implementing the “right to switch off” and Employment Rights Bill changes deserve the same support and work-life balance which they are helping to shore up for their teams. Listening to these leaders’ priorities, concerns, and needs is the first step. Next, we must give SME leaders the tools they need to navigate rule changes, and implement new policies as efficiently and effectively as possible.”