Responding to reports that the Labour party is considering plans to force companies with 50 employees or more to set up a profit-sharing scheme with staff, Simon Walker, Director General of the Institute Of Directors, said:

 "We cannot believe that the Labour leadership will take such an obviously counterproductive measure seriously. Employee profit-sharing can work well for companies who choose it, but it has to be up to them. This idea would give companies with 49 employees a very strong incentive not to grow. Far from this being a model to follow, the French government is actually attempting to reduce the bureaucracy that kicks in at 50 workers because they know it is damaging job creation.

"The UK has a productivity problem, but it cannot be solved with a quick fix, and certainly not with a policy which could only deter investment".