Further examples of opposition to owner-employee schemes

A YouGov poll has discovered that 63% of people in Britain think that the Government’s plans for owner-employee schemes are a bad idea.

The owner-employee schemes propose that employees will receive between £2,000 and £50,000 worth of shares in the company they work for, however in exchange will lose a number of employment rights including protection against wrongful dismissal and the ability to request flexible working arrangements.

The survey which is based on the results of 1,899 responses revealed that 46% of conservative supporters were against the proposal, while 37% were in support.

Of the respondents who were Labour Party voters, 79% believe it is a bad idea to allow companies to offer owner-employee schemes, while only 9% think it is a good idea.

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Amongst Liberal Democrats, 25% of respondents supported the proposal, with 64% opposing the schemes.

Laurence Janata-Lipinski, Political Research Manager at YouGov, commented on the figures:

“George Osborne is clearly trying to present an idea that strikes a balance by enabling employers to fire people more easily, while at the same time giving employees considerable benefits for giving up some of their rights. However, the public opposition to this proposal would indicate that the Chancellor has a considerable amount of work to do to convince people that this is a good idea.”