As the UK gears up for the forthcoming Budget, the professional recruitment sector is placing its markers: this is a moment to support jobs, skills and innovation, not add burdens that stall potential.
The current picture
Hiring confidence is picking up. According to the REC, the number of employers saying they plan to invest or hire rose over the summer.
Yet that optimism is fragile, held back by regulatory uncertainty, rising costs (such as employer National Insurance) and staffing bottlenecks in key public services like the NHS.
What the recruitment sector wants
From our reading of industry commentary (including the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) position) and the REC’s calls, the Budget should:
- Provide relief to employers – freezing further increases in employment-related taxes, reducing regulatory burdens and giving greater clarity on employment-law reform.
- Unlock skills and training investment – making the skills levy more flexible, funding short courses, and creating stronger pathways for reskilling, especially in growth sectors. (See APSCo’s focus on jobs, skills & NHS innovation)
- Support flexible workforce models – recognising that temporary, contract and agency workers are vital in sectors such as health, and modernising public-sector hiring to support this. The REC
- Embed workforce strategy in growth sectors – aligning hiring, training and investment with key sectors like life sciences, IT, engineering and health-care.
Why this matters
When the recruitment sector can hire and deploy talent, businesses scale, public services meet demand, and innovation accelerates. But when employers feel the cost or risk is too high, growth stalls. The REC warns that last year’s Budget “dented business confidence”.
Our view
The upcoming Budget must send a clear message: the UK wants growth and business confidence. That means taxes and regulations should enable, not inhibit, flexible employment and investment in talent.
For our clients and partners in recruitment, staffing, and services to health, technology and beyond, the right mix of measures will mean not just survival, but opportunity.
What to watch
- Will the Chancellor freeze or reduce employer employment taxes/thresholds, as called for?
- Will the training & skills pipeline get new funding or flexibility, as the sector demands?
- Will the Government recognise and support contract/agency workers, especially in sectors under pressure like the NHS?
- Will there be clarity and pragmatism in employment-law reform, avoiding measures that raise costs or employer risk?
Final word
A Budget that backs jobs, skills and flexible talent models isn’t a niche request; it’s central to unlocking growth across the UK economy. The recruitment industry stands ready; now, the policy needs to match the ambition.