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When asked how business changed in the four weeks after the vote compared to the four weeks pre-referendum, over half (56 per cent) had witnessed no change, around one in five (19 per cent) said business was worse while roughly the same amount reported that business was better.
The results are based on the responses of 145 professional recruitment leaders collected throughout July and August during a project designed to gauge the immediate impact of the Brexit vote on the UK’s professional recruitment sector. Around 80 per cent of respondents reported that they had voted to remain in the EU and 15 per cent had voted to leave.
Around a third of respondents reported that, overall, EU legislation has been advantageous for their business and the wider sector – with a similar proportion believing that it has had a negative impact.
Changes
When asked to list aspects of EU legislation that they believe should be amended post Article 50, 40 per cent said Agency Workers Regulations with the Working Time Directive and bonus caps both also featuring highly.
Overall, participants were largely positive about the prospects for the UK recruitment sector in the short term, with 44 per cent citing that they were optimistic for the next two years. By comparison, just 20 per cent said they were pessimistic with the remaining 36 per cent remaining neutral.
The research also revels the challenges and opportunities that senior professionals foresee will be created following the ‘Leave’ vote. Just over half said less red tape would create business opportunities with a similar amount looking forward to the reform of unhelpful EU derived legislation.
COntractors
Almost three quarters reported that an increase in demand for contractors would be an important opportunity for their business. Although, the research simultaneously found that 20 per cent of respondents reported that contract business was worse in the four weeks after referendum. This is compared to 18 per cent of respondents who found that overall business was worse during the same period.
When quizzed on notable post-Brexit risks, 94 per cent cited a potential economic downturn, 86 per centfeared clients hiring less permanent staff and 83 per cent were worried about less access to talent. Furthermore, 37 per cent of respondents said they believe that Brexit will affect their ability to source talent in the next two years and just over half believe the referendum result will have an impact on access to talent in the medium-term (two to five years).
Limbo
In light of the findings, Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo, said: “Following the positive economic benchmarking data which has been made available in recent weeks, the results of our survey are not altogether unsurprising. Despite the fact that the majority of respondents voted to remain, it seems like, for now, it’s ‘business as usual’ within the professional jobs market.”
“Until Article 50 is triggered we are very much in limbo, which perhaps explains why the recruitment profession is acutely aware of potential challenges associated with Brexit. However, alongside these perceived risks, also come opportunities – most notability the potential overhaul of burdensome EU legislation.
"As a trade body which exclusively represents organisations within the professional recruitment sector, we continuously lobby Government to ensure that the interests of our members are protected. The current landscape offers an opportunity for us to encourage a new regulatory framework that differentiates skilled professionals by positioning them outside of ‘one size fits all’ regulation aimed at protecting unskilled workers.
"It is crucial that the Government consults with representative bodies in the professional recruitment sector as EU-derived laws are replaced by, or recreated into, British statute. One of the UK’s main differentiators from the rest of Europe is the flexibility of its labour market. Post-Brexit, it is now more crucial than ever that we don’t introduce unnecessary barriers to growth.”
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2016
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