Business leaders call for changes

A new study of business leaders - from all sectors of the economy - has revealed a huge call for National Insurance contributions (NICs) and the employee rights bill to be reversed ahead of this week's Budget.

Eighty-four per cent of the companies questioned by Telford-based personalised workwear specialist MyWorkwear would like to see a U-turn by the Chancellor, with two thirds stating that NICs and minimum wage increases have already had a negative impact on their performance.

Almost half of firms (47%) are worried that they will struggle to survive the next five years, a 3% increase on a similar report released in February this year.

And, in a stark message to the Government, three quarters of management teams said they would not vote for Labour if a snap election was held tomorrow.

“When we asked about the impact of NICs and employee rights bill in our survey in February, 72% of respondents feared a negative change and these latest results prove that they were right to be worried,” said James Worthington, co-owner of MyWorkwear.

“As a workwear provider, we tend to be a great bellwether for the economy, and we are seeing first hand how businesses are struggling and having to contend with an incredibly challenging time.

“With the Budget looming on the horizon, the results indicate that the current Government can’t afford to get on the wrong side of business again with new tax rises and more regulation. Three quarters already appears to have had enough of current policies and feel they are strangling the life out of the economy.”

For the quarterly Business Confidence Report by MyWorkwear, 128 business leaders were questioned and the survey showed that some companies were still prepared to invest in branded workwear, with it being voted the least likely internal cost businesses were having to reduce.

It also highlighted that branded workwear was the second most popular brand awareness tool being utilised by companies, second only to digital marketing.

For further information or to access the full survey, visit: https://www.myworkwear.co.uk/content/89-the-myworkwear-business-confidence-report-2025

Pictured: James Worthington