Chances are good that in the last few weeks, you’ve been inundated with content around the 2023 Budget Announcement and you may have already started making some changes to take advantage. Seems everyone is talking about the focus on addressing labour shortages in the UK economy following Brexit and the pandemic. 

This 2023 Budget Announcement was designed to get economically inactive individuals back to work through three key initiatives: support for parents, pension changes and help to get long-term ill workers back to the office. We know that this can all be a lot to take onboard. So, here’s your cheat sheet for the most-impactful initiatives and how you can capitalise on them.

Tackling long-term sick

With 1 million vacancies in the UK needing skilled workers but a whopping 7 million people economically inactive, the Chancellor is looking to stem the increase in workforce exodus through packages for the long-term sick. This is because half a million more people left the workplace due to sickness between June and August 2022 alone. As such, the Universal Support system will help disabled people find a job more easily while mental health and musculoskeletal resources will become more abundant under a new £400m plan. Funding for small company subsidies around occupational health will also be doubled under the 2023 Budget Announcement.

Support for working parents

Women are disproportionately affected by parenthood and the toll it takes on their careers. So, the Chancellor’s 2023 Budget Announcement included 30 hours of free childcare for children over nine months in households where all adults work at least 16 hours and earn under £100k. There’s also funding for bookend care for schoolchildren to address the start and end of the workday. This; combined with the flexible working policies most workplaces are adopting, should go a long way to alleviate the pressure placed on parents working the traditional 9 to 5 workday and is quite frankly a game changer for a lot of employees.

Pension changes and support for workers over 50

Lastly, the 2023 Budget Announcement provided plans to get the 3.5m over 50 non-workers who aren’t of retirement age back into work. The new Returnships are targeted apprenticeships that will combine with a Midlife MOT (terrible name, great programme) to give training, career, financial and health support to those over 50. Plus, the Lifetime Allowance will be abolished so workers don’t leave early over tax thresholds. This move, combined with the tax-free allowance increase to £60k will help to support OAPs back into the office.

What it means for your business

For all UK SMEs, this 2023 Budget Announcement is good news. You'll have the opportunity to start harnessing older workers, source differently-abled jobseekers and court parents into your boardrooms. Here’s how to take full advantage:

• Create new internal communication programmes about what benefits are available and who they apply to and ensure your employees know how to access them through regular signposting.

• Motivate and train your HR teams on different programmes, how your staff can apply for them and their exclusions.

• Host workshops for parents in your company to help them understand what benefits they’re eligible for.

• Create signposted material around your office regarding mental health support (or online resources for remote workers), Returnships and childcare benefits to encourage your teams to ask about these programmes.

If you’re not sure how to communicate these benefits or don’t have the internal resources to do so, talk to us about it. We'd love to help. 

Conclusion

In summary, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has unveiled a raft of programmes in the 2023 Budget Announcement to support disabled jobseekers, reduce workplace absences, help parents with childcare and get older people back into the workforce. This is a great thing for UK SMEs like yours who could be facing labour shortages since the pandemic. Need more support to understand these changes and how they’ll benefit your business? Let us help.