Forum wants Fathers day to be a catalyst for recognition for the UK’s forgotten wealth creators
According to the Forum of Private Business, more needs to be done to support fathers who are also business owners, for the good of the economy. They believe the best way to help this forgotten army of wealth creators is to reduce the time they spend on red tape and regulation as well as the stress that goes along with it.
Analysis of over 1,000 business owners has shown that 63% said an important consideration for setting up their business was for the flexibility it allowed them to spend more time with their family, as well as a vehicle to support them.
As a result the Forum argues that helping these businesses to grow and supporting their owners is important to the future of the economy and one way to do this is to make it more attractive for such businesses to become employers by streamlining regulation and supporting them in growth.
Ian Cass, Managing Director of the Forum of Private Business and father of two, feels that business owners who have a good work life balance tend to be more productive and make better decisions.
“I can honestly say that running your own business and trying to maintain a healthy family life is extremely challenging in this day and age. The government could do more to help by reducing the time that business owners spend on compliance, they need to reduce the red tape and regulation while simplifying things for business owners” pointed out Ian.
“Support with childcare and the employment allowance has helped fathers start up and grow their business to a point, but the fact that even the smallest employer has to spend 27 hours on compliance is a real demotivating factor, as well as being a cause of stress and this along with a lack of time is the biggest problem faced by our members ” Ian continued
“Father’s day should be a catalyst to help private and family firms to grow, as they are likely to be highly sustainable businesses, adding massive value to the UK economy, but they need support and help to grow their business whilst maintaining a healthy work, life balance” he concluded.
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Notes
Analysis of business owners can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/408432/bis-15-132-understanding-motivations-for-entrepreneurship.pdf and Forum analysis of the Global Entrepreneurship Model (GEM)
There is a considerable body of academic and government evidence on work life balance. The Forum has adopted a consensus position here.
According to the Forum’s latest Cost of Compliance, micro employers spend 27 hours on compliance with government legislation.
Analysis of known Forum members and fathers indicates these owners are more likely to value time over control and cost in a number of quantitative studies undertaken by the Forum