Employers ‘worried about impact of redundancy on business’

Posted 24/06/2009

Employers in the UK are becoming increasingly concerned that redundancy could have a negative impact on their businesses.

A poll by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and SunGard Availability Services found that job losses are a concern among half of British companies.

The study also showed that two out of three firms believe the operational risks they face today are greater than those they confronted a year ago.

John Oates, chairman of the ICAEW’s IT faculty, commented: “In the last 12 months, we have seen operational risk rise up the business agenda as organisations identify new threats to their business, not least that caused by growing numbers of redundancies.”

He added that employers should make sure they have workable contingency plans in the event of any major problems.

However, Mr Oates insisted that any risk management policies need to be flexible enough to cope with new and unexpected threats.

The findings come after the Office for National Statistics revealed that unemployment in the UK has reached a 12-year high of more than 2.25 million.