UK workers want the right to work longer hours as well as cuts in employer taxes on jobs, as the UK struggles to exit the recession.

A survey of 2000 people by campaign group Keep Britain Working launches today (Tuesday 1 December) the December focus on reducing barriers to job-creation to make it easier to hire people.

The three top ideas, backed by half of those polled, were:

•Continue the opt-out of EU minimum hours legislation, to ensure people can work flexibly if they choose
•Reduce National Insurance to make it less expensive for employers to hire more people
•Cut out National Insurance altogether for the first 12 months for a new employee who has been taken on from long term unemployment

Ideas from key business leaders included:

•Declare a moratorium on business regulation (Stephen Alambritis, Federation of Small Businesses)
•Remove the £5 earnings cap for people on benefit (Geraldine Blake, CEO, Community Links)
•Allowing Asylum seekers to work (Jonathan Ellis, Director of Policy and Development, Refugee Council)
•Asking the UK government to campaign for an EU-wide moratorium on employment legislation (David Frost, British Chamber of Commerce)

Further ideas include cutting red tape by simplifying health and safety regulations, and introducing a “one in, one out” replacement-only rule for employment regulation.

James Reed, Founder of the campaign and Chairman of recruitment group Reed, says:

“With the UK economy struggling to exit recession, more needs to be done to make it easier and more cost-effective to hire people. That is why we are calling on people across the UK to share their ideas at KeepBritainWorking.com."