The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that opportunities for young people risk being narrowed if the employment reforms aimed at strengthening security reduce the availability of entry-level roles.
Part of the government’s new Employment Rights Act, which received Royal Assent in December, includes banning zero-hour contracts and replacing them with guaranteed-hour contracts to improve job security.
However, the BRC has said that taking the wrong approach on such provisions risks adding new costs and administrative complexity.
The trade body warned that businesses will inevitably reassess hiring plans and scale back the number of entry-level and short-hour roles.
This, it said, will likely result in fewer opportunities for young people and those in search of flexible work.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Local, flexible jobs are important first steps into work for young people across the country.
“Whether it is a Saturday job to earn extra cash around studies or doing shifts while balancing caring responsibilities or other life commitments, these roles are relied upon and valued by so many.
“Retailers want the Employment Rights Act to live up to its ambition and raise standards and improve job security.
“But at a time when youth unemployment is high and rising, the government must ensure reforms double down on tackling bad practices and don’t choke off the routes into a first job for the next generation.”
New BRC data found that 70% of Gen-Z workers say flexibility is important to them, rising to 73% among those working part-time.
The warning comes as youth unemployment was branded an “existential crisis” by the chair of the Independent Review into Youth and Work, at 16.1% among 16-24-year-olds.
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