The founder of household appliances giant Dyson has condemned Government plans to extend employees’ rights to work from home as “economically illiterate and staggeringly self-defeating”.
Billionaire businessman Sir James Dyson has slammed a new policy which could allow millions of workers the ability to request flexibility on where, when and how they work from day one of their employment.
Sir James, who has previously called on the government to encourage people back into the office following the easing of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, said the move would “hamper employers’ ability to organise their workforce”.
Writing in The Times , the entrepreneur also questioned why companies would invest in the UK when they had little control over “how and where” staff can work.
Dyson, relocated its global headquarters to Singapore earlier this year but currently has around 3,500 staff based in the UK, including at its Wiltshire campuses.
Sir James wrote: “The Government’s misguided approach will generate friction between employers and employees, creating further bureaucratic drag.”
“Employers, who are charged with being competitive and developing their workforce, know the huge damage (working from home) does to companies and employees alike.
“If they can’t remain competitive, they will fail and jobs will go to other, more ambitious economies. It is telling that only 7% of those involved in the recent consultation conducted by the Government were employers.”
The businessman, who was second on the 202 2 Sunday Times Rich List in August with £23bn, argued that flexible work prevented collaboration and in-person training which was vital to developing new technology and maintaining competitiveness against global rivals.
“This is what makes us succeed. In other countries where Dyson operates we are given the freedom to organise how — and where — our staff carry out the roles they are contracted to.
“In no other country have we experienced such overreach in terms of the government telling us how to organise our business. To impose this policy during what is likely to be one of the worst recessions on record is economically illiterate and staggeringly self-defeating.
“The UK increasingly looks like a lackadaisical global outlier that is determined to interfere in business and drive away investment.”
The prominent Brexiteer went on to accuse the government of being more interested in short-term populism than improving economic performance, adding: “Britain is losing the race, becoming less competitive, and this policy will make us fall even further behind.”
In announcing the move away from the UK in 2019, Dyson’s chief executive said the decision had “nothing to do with Brexit” but was about “future-proofing” the business.
At the time it was reported the development had come shortly after Singapore and the EU agreed a landmark free trade agreement.
Earlier this year Dyson launched its largest ever recruitment drive for engineering and digital roles to date, as it looked to take on more than 2,000 staff globally this year - of which 900 would be based in the UK.
Sir James’ comments comes as Dyson announced its first wearable technology product, a set of air-purifying headphones will go on sale in the UK next year.
The company - known for its vacuum cleaners and fans - confirmed The Dyson Zone, which aims to tackle air and noise pollution in urban areas, will retail for £749 when it launches in March.
Dyson recently gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of new products with “intelligent, self-improving” technology it is developing at its campus at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire. The firm provided the update as it moves to the next stage of a £2.75bn investment plan announced in 2020.
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