‘Shadow Chancellor is right to focus on tax simplification’ - REC

Responding to the Shadow Chancellor’s speech at Conservative Party Conference 2026, Shazia Ejaz, Director of Campaigns at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), said:

“It is encouraging to see the Shadow Chancellor widen the debate on youth employment, one of the defining economic challenges of this decade. But no government will solve it without working in partnership with recruiters, who connect millions of people to jobs every year. The UK faces a cost of up to £39 billion in lost GDP annually due to skills and labour shortages. Tax cuts, welfare reform and deregulation can all play a role, but they are not a substitute for a long-term workforce plan. The Shadow Chancellor is right to focus on tax simplification. Reforming the complex off-payroll working rules, for example, would save businesses time and money, reduce unnecessary complexity and support labour market flexibility. Combined with investment in infrastructure, it would help create a more dynamic labour market than today.”

Notes to editors

The REC’s Overcoming Shortages report shows how the labour market restricted by shortages could cost the economy anywhere between £30 billion and £39 billion every year. This figure is just short of two whole Elizabeth Lines.