Flexible working and extended employee absence entitlements are causing businesses to face added costs and administrative processes, according to the results of a new survey launched by the Chamber of Commerce.
The leader of the Island’s key business lobby group said there is a “clear need” to review family-friendly legislation to ensure it is “practical, affordable and fair”, following the publication of a member survey of 45 local businesses.
Chamber of Commerce CEO, Lee Madden was reflecting on the survey results that showed many businesses across multiple sectors were feeling worse off, which Chamber said demonstrated “widespread concern over increased costs and operational pressures”.
The survey showed that the pinch was felt particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.
Survey says…
Here’s a breakdown of some of Chamber’s key findings from the survey.
- 71% of businesses reported increased costs that were mainly linked to paid parental leave and administration
- 67% of firms said workload was harder to manage during staff absences
- 62% needed to restructure staffing or operations to cover parental leave
- 53% said they struggled with managing extended absences of up to 52 weeks
- 40% reported a rise in flexible working requests which led to administrative or scheduling challenges
- 18% of respondants said the amendments had no significant impact on their operations.
Mr Madden said: “Businesses in Jersey are committed to supporting working parents and understand the value of family-friendly policies. However, these survey results show the amendments are placing a heavy burden on employers, particularly smaller firms.
“There is a clear need to review the legislation to ensure it is practical, affordable and fair for both businesses and employees,” he added.
It comes after the Best Start Partnership – a coalition of early-years organisations – urged the Government to strengthen support for parents during the “critical” first 1,001 days of a child’s life back in June.
This, they said, could be achieved by extending parental leave by at least a year and introducing new protections such as those for breastfeeding.
A Scrutiny panel chaired by Deputy Louise Doublet is currently reviewing existing legislation, and assessing how the laws introduced in 2018 and 2020 have worked in practice, how Jersey compares internationally, and whether more change is needed.
Social Security Minister Lyndsay Feltham has pledged to “carefully consider” the panel’s findings when published.