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HR Magazine asking for comments about the Budget

ended 26. November 2025

HR Magazine request: 

We’d like 150-200 words roughly. If the comment could be clearly formatted and sections, that would be very helpful, but don’t stress too much about this. 

The overall focus is on how the Budget affects employers and HR. Please don’t feel you need to answer all of these, only what you know best! 

Minimum and living wage increases: How will these impact HR’s work (positively or negatively?) and in what ways will this decision impact future hiring, and hiring decisions?

Apprenticeship schemes: Are these recently-announced changes/investments good for businesses/employers? If so/not, why? How will this impact SMEs, and future talent pipelines? And what should HR be putting in place now, with regards to early career strategy, in anticipation of further investment?

Business rates increase: How much of a blow is this to businesses/employers, and what can HR leaders to help prepare for the impact of these changes?

Salary sacrifice: Should employers make use of the available benefits now, if they have not already, seeing as cuts aren’t kicking in till April 2029? Will this change disincentivise or re-energise employers? How should benefits strategy be adapted in light of these changes?

Responses asap please.

1 responses from the Newspage community

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Colette Mason
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
£12.71 isn't a win for workers, it's a tsunami forcing hasty AI automation businesses aren't ready for.

Higher wages make junior roles undesirable as businesses rush toward gen AI systems that MIT reports fail 95% of the time in pilots. You're not automating because it's smart, the Budget left no choice.

Next for the chop are pricier middle managers who catch AI mistakes before they torpedo client relationships and brand credibility. You need human oversight more than ever, but it just got more expensive to keep.

What HR should do: hire for AI safety roles: transparency, governance, model training, and in-house people trained to spot when automation fails. Do that before the "scarcity tax" makes wages spiral.

Making humans feel expendable sacrifices judgment precisely when it's life-or-death for your business.

It frogmarches businesses toward AI black boxes they don't understand, can't fix, and will blame, yet still carry the liability can.