Workforce management to become vital for SMEs as they plan for living wage rises

Workforce management systems enabling companies to manage their staff in a more flexible manner will certainly become a lot more popular in the near future, as more and more SMEs are faced with hard choices when faced with effects of the living wage rises.

Managers and company owners in the small business segment have warned of the risk of job losses after research revealed some SMEs have cut staff hours since the introduction of the national living wage (NLW).

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that the recently introduced higher minimum wage for people aged 25 and over had caused wage bills to rise at more than half of the 641 firms it polled this summer.

The NLW of £7.20 per hour came into force earlier this year, with the government planning further rises that would take it to £9 per hour by 2020.

One in four of those employers with higher labour costs had reduced staff hours since the NLW came into effect in April, according to the FSB survey. Recruitment activity was down at about one in six, and profit had dropped at six in 10.

The FSB called for the £9 target to be adjusted if necessary to avoid job losses. Its national chairman, Mike Cherry, said: “Small employers have stretched to meet the challenge set by the NLW, with many paying their staff more by reducing operating margins. This will get harder for many firms in later years, with the targets set in a pre-Brexit-decision economy.

“Considering the uncertain economic climate, the Low Pay Commission must be given the opportunity to adapt the target in future years so that it can be met without job losses or harming job creation. The rate of the national living wage should be set at a level the economy can afford, based upon economic and not political priorities,” he added.

Time and Attendance UK – experienced SME partner, supplier of advanced workforce management solutions

Every company that faces massive changes in its organizational structure should first and foremost implement a very solid and reliable workforce management system, capable of coping with the challenges.

Time & Attendance UK is a market leader in Time and Attendance and Access Control solutions, offering companies an extensive set of tools enabling them to manage their workforces in a very effective manner.

Our top-range smart card-based clocking stations offer a very high level of functionality, supporting features such as job booking, job costing, labour hours analysis and security management including quality CCTV surveillance playback.

Additionally, our software allows companies to easily store details for up to 2000 employees, and also offers a couple of additional interesting features, such as payroll and absence summary support, job booking and Fire Roll Call, shift swapping and premiums, etc.

If you want to find out more about the range of solutions provided by Time and Attendance UK, our dedicated team will be more than happy to answer all your questions.