LONDON (Feb 19): British retailers have grown markedly more anxious about rising labour costs over the next year after new employment rights began to be implemented, a trade body survey of finance chiefs showed on Thursday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government secured parliamentary approval for its Employment Rights Act in December. The government has called the legislation the biggest upgrade to UK workers' rights in a generation, arguing it is the best way to avoid the industrial action that has disrupted services in recent years. It said 55% plan to reduce head office headcount and 42% plan to reduce stores headcount. The BRC said the risk does not lie with the Employment Rights Act's aims, but in how it is implemented.

Source: The Edge Markets February 19, 2026 02:17 UTC