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Speak to any small business owner right now and you’ll hear the same thing. Costs are rising. Pressure is building. And somehow, they’re expected to carry more, with less control. There’s a new player entering UK employment law - The Fair Work Agency On paper, it sounds like a good thing. Fair pay. Fair treatment. Better protections for workers. No one’s arguing with that. But there’s a question sitting underneath all of this that hardly anyone is asking: Fair for who? The system is getting stronger… for employees Let’s be clear, employees are about to become more protected than ever. Under the latest changes, they’ll have: • Enforcement of minimum wage and holiday pay through the state • A legal requirement for employers to inform them of their right to join a union • Greater access to union representation • External bodies stepping directly into workplace disputes This is a system that’s becoming: More active. More structured. More supportive. And again that’s not a bad thing. But it’s only one side of the story. Now let’s talk about the other side The person running the business. The one who: • Pays the wages • Handles compliance • Carries the financial risk • Keeps the whole thing from falling apart Let’s be honest for a second… What does “fairness” look like for them? Because right now, it looks like this: • No minimum income protection • No statutory holiday pay • No sick pay • No enforcement body acting on their behalf If things go wrong, they don’t call for help. They absorb it. Out of their own pocket. “But business owners can join organisations…” Sure. Of course they can. An employee can join a union for £10–£20 a month. A business owner can join something like the Federation of Small Businesses for a similar cost over a year. On the surface, that sounds balanced. But that’s not where the real difference lies. One is built into the system. The other isn’t. Employees: • Are automatically protected by law • Have enforcement bodies acting for them • Are actively informed of their rights • Can access support inside the workplace Business owners: • Have to go looking for support • Have to pay for it themselves • Have no equivalent enforcement body • Have no obligation from the system to support them One is built in. One is left to chance. That’s not a small difference. That’s the whole game. And at the same time… control is shifting Here’s where it gets more complicated. Business owners are still responsible for everything. But they’re not in full control anymore: • Wage floors are set by the government • Taxes are being driven upwards all round • Compliance requirements are expanding fast to reflect incoming legislation • Enforcement is becoming more proactive by the state So the original deal used to be: Take the risk. Keep the control. Now? Take the risk. Share the control. Carry the whole responsibility. That’s a very different equation. The question no one has properly answered What is a “worker”? Because this entire system is being built around protecting workers. But in reality… it’s not protecting all of them. Think about a small business owner. They’re: • Delivering the service • Managing clients • Handling operations • Wearing five different hats • Working long hours just to stay afloat Are they not working? Of course they are. But legally? They’re classified as self-employed or a company director. Which means they sit outside the very protections being created and strengthened across the system. So who represents them? Trade unions exist for employees and they play an important role. But they’re not built for business owners. And there is no equivalent system with the same: • Access • Influence • Enforcement power So what are we left with? A system where: • One side is increasingly supported, protected, and represented • The other is expected to navigate growing complexity and costs alone with no support This is where the imbalance starts to matter Because most small businesses aren’t big corporations. They’re people: People working long hours People taking financial risks People trying to build something sustainable And in many cases? They’re earning less than their own employees, especially in the early years. But none of that shows up in policy. None of it gets protected. And none of it gets supported. So what does “fair” actually mean? If fairness at work is the goal, it can’t just apply in one direction. It has to reflect how modern businesses actually operate. Because right now, a system is being built that recognises one type of worker… And ignores another. The one that makes employment possible in the first place. Final thought The Fair Work Agency may well improve fairness inside businesses. But it raises a bigger question: Who is making sure the system itself is fair? Because if fairness is the goal… It can’t depend on which side of the payslip you sit.

Running a small business has always required resilience and more than a dash of optimism. But right now, many owners are dealing with something much more difficult. Not just change, but the accumulation of multiple significant changes happening at the same time. I’ve named this The Policy Pile Up. I recently discussed this on the Business111 Coffee Pod with small business champion Liz Barclay, and it’s a theme that continues to dominate conversations with business owners across the UK. Click to watch here The challenge is not one policy, but many Over the past year, and especially right now, several significant changes have either been introduced or are coming into effect: Updates linked to employment legislation Increases to minimum and living wages The rollout of Making Tax Digital Each of these changes has a clear rationale. But when they arrive together, the effect is compounded and not for the faint-hearted. This is Policy Pile Up. Why this is a massive hit for small businesses In larger organisations, change is absorbed by teams and backed by deeper pockets. There are departments responsible for HR, finance, compliance and operations. In a micro or small business, those roles are generally carried by one person. The owner. That means every new requirement does not just add complexity to the business. It adds pressure to the individual running it. The impact on behaviour What I am beginning to see is not resistance to change, but a shift in behaviour. Small business owners are responding to increased complexity and risk by: Being more cautious about hiring Favouring experienced staff over training new entrants Making greater use of contractors and fractional support Delaying or scaling back growth decisions These are rational responses. But at scale, they have wider implications for UK PLC. Why stability matters Most of the incoming policies are well intentioned. However, some appear not to have been fully thought through and the combined effect of timing and implementation has clearly been underestimated. When multiple changes are introduced in a short space of time, without sufficient lead in or support, the cumulative effect can be significant. The question of what will happen in reality has not been fully addressed or at least not in conjunction with those of us with lived experience. If small businesses are to grow, create opportunities, or even survive policy change, stability is just as important as support. "Policy pile up is a business breaking recipe." A broader conversation Small businesses are often described as the backbone of the economy. Behind each one is a person making decisions, managing risk, and trying to keep everything moving forward. Ensuring those businesses are heard, understood, and supported in a practical way is essential. Because when small businesses hesitate, the effects are felt far beyond the individual business itself. Sam Acton is the founder of the Domestic Angels network of small businesses. She is a Member of the BCP Council Audit & Governance Committee and a Trustee of the Healthbus Charity. Sam has over 20 years’ experience building and supporting SMEs and regularly contributes to discussions on employment, governance and sustainable business growth in Westminster. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-acton/