Brexit can help, but subject to Govt policy.Originally Posted by Wheeze
The pull factors of high wages and benefit top-ups, along with the comparatively excellent education, health etc have no brake mechanism at the moment.
There is the possibility of applying a brake once this process is completed.
That will reduce the over-supply of labour for unskilled jobs.
(it can actually be done in conjunction with increasing the supply of skilled labour)
I would then add some UK policies to help - something like this.
1. Measures to restrict the use of agency work. We've seen the Sports Direct warehouse where almost all are agency staff.
Employers should not be able to outsource their responsibility like this, so say a 10% max limit on the amount of labour that can be brought in through agencies with possible exceptions for seasonal periods such as we already have in the working time directive.
2. Same goes for zero hours. There is a place for it, my daughter actually opted for bank work rather than fixed contract as it suited her.
But again a limit - eg. employers with more than 10 employees cannot have more than 10% of their staff on zero hours contracts.
It is also possible to force employers to issue contracts based on (for example) the previous periods average working hours.
3. Address the issues with employers NI. 0% to £156 per week and then 13.8% on all above that. It incentivises an employer to keep pay below or as close to £156 a week.
I would fix it at a flat rate of perhaps 8% on all pay.
I would gradually phase it out.
It is a jobs tax in effect and it would help by cutting Labour costs
4. We often have pockets of unemployment that are detached from areas where there are jobs but it only takes a little imagination to resolve it.
eg. Lincolnshire around Boston and Sleaford is known as an area where the employers seem to have a need for unskilled Labour that cannot be filled locally.
North East Lincolnshire around Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe has higher than average unemployment and areas of deprivation.
It shouldn't be that difficult to work out a way to link the two together as they are 30 miles apart.
Just a few ideas and not all of them Brexit linked of course.
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