The chief executive of Currys, Alex Baldock, has hit out at Labour’s workers’ rights plan, warning it could make “people inadvertently poorer”.
Labour has pledged “a new deal” for working people if it comes to power, which includes banning zero-hours contracts, ending fire and rehire, and scrapping qualifying periods for basic rights.
Baldock, who fronts the electrical business, said that while the political party has been “certainly much more business-friendly” in recent years he still has concerns about the proposal.
He told the Telegraph: “Everyone should be careful that – admirably intended though it may be to seek to protect people – that you don’t inadvertently make them poorer.”
“The more restrictions that you put in place, the less flexibility you allow in businesses’ relationships with their colleagues, the less likely businesses are to hire and the less likely they are to invest.”
Business leaders have been particularly concerned about Labour’s plans to draft in “day one” rights for leaders, which could mean an end to probation periods making it harder for employers to sack workers.
Baldock said he was “very loath” to see probationary periods axed.
“The colleague and the business get a chance to take a look at each other before both sides commit.”
The businessman, who has led Currys since 2018, also told the Daily Mail the policy could make “businesses more hesitant to hire in the first place”.
“Many things are better sorted out between individual businesses and individual people, rather than by government diktat,” he said.
City A.M. has contacted Labour representatives for a response.
Baldock’s comments come amid a period of heightened publicity for the retailer.
He recently rejected takeover bids from both Elliott Advisors and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com.
Waterstones owner Elliott made two separate bids, both shot down on the grounds it undervalued the business.