The panellists will discuss how the UK garden products supply chain can deal with April 2026 employment law changes and how will they directly impact profitability or service levels.
- Host – Matthew Appleby, HortWeek
- Panel – Rae Goss, Senior Recruitment Consultant at More People
- Panel – Guy Jenkins, DLF Johnsons Lawn Seed
- Panel – Jenny Douthwaite, Primeur
With new employment rights beginning on 6 April, for instance sick pay, maternity/paternity, employment protection from day one, employed staff are becoming more expensive. Employment costs are increasing generally with higher minimum and living wages, NI and pension costs.
The panel will also talk about staff shortages in on‑site operations, planning, data/digital, sustainability, and commercial, and how are factors like the new employment protections, higher on‑costs and changing worker expectations are contributing to those gaps.
They will also talk about how they are reshaping workforce models – for example in automation, use of seasonal labour, skills mix, or near‑/off‑shoring.
The panel will give ideas about how to be competitive under the new employment regime.
They will also discuss ‘in the field' employed sales or merchandiser/agents, what does the current situation look like, and how it projects into a future scenario against the current backdrop. This includes increasing costs are being caused by the Iran war including increasing fuel costs.
