The chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, said: “With over a third of FPB members looking to employ this year, the announcement to ensure people are equipped with the essential tools for job hunting is very timely.”
Under the new rules, which come into force at the end of April, jobseekers will be asked to prepare a CV, set up an email address and register for the government’s new jobs website.
Mr Orford’s comments came as employment minister Esther McVey described the new rules as a fundamental shift to help end the “one-way street to benefits” for people who sign on to claim jobseeker’s allowance without first taking steps to make themselves attractive to employers.
The aim is that claimants are ready to seek work and can show they are serious about finding a job as quickly as possible.
Ms McVey said: “With the economy growing, unemployment falling and record numbers of people in work, now is the time to start expecting more of people if they want to claim benefits.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, the employment rate is at a five-year high, with 30.2m people in work. The number of job vacancies has increased in the past three months by 23,000 to 588,000.
Gordon Bowden, IFA with Buckinghamshire-based Quainton Hills Financial Planning, said: “The concern I have from a small business point of view is that firms don’t end up doing pointless interviews with people who are never going to be suitable for their job because job centres and jobseekers need to get a certain number of interviews done to secure their benefits.”
