NEWS ways to increase sales and prepare for rising labour costs. Juliet Dennis reports from Chester


Agents advised to adhere to new employment laws


H Agent panellists on stage with Hays


Travel senior commercial and product manager Natasha Lizardos (right)


Catriona Parsons


osts conversion rates’ “We’ve seen an 8% increase in terms of


conversions in the first week of launching [in Hays retail],” said Woodall-Johnston. “If the customer goes on to book, then


this [quote] will automatically load into the CRM platform.” Woodall-Johnston said the next phase


would be to source “richer content” by getting more operators on board. The group has also streamlined its


customer documentation following its appointment of head of customer experience Sue Bradley, a former Tui director, last October. The number of customer documents in iSell has been cut from 41 to nine, said Woodall-Johnston.


ays Travel IG agencies have been warned to comply with the most significant changes in employment law for a generation in the wake of mounting cost pressures.


Hays Travel finance director Ken Campling said


businesses faced major cost hikes as a result of the Employment Rights Act 2025 and higher inflation, and could not “wait and see” what happens. Changes have been introduced for statutory sick pay


(SSP), paternity rates, unpaid parental leave, redundancy consultations and probationary periods, and there are new sexual harassment safeguarding requirements. He urged agencies to update HR policies to meet the


new regulations and consider ways to mitigate higher costs. “Employment compliance is a must-do. Look at your


HR policies, you have to be up to date,” he said. Citing SSP, he said: “The big change here is people are


going to qualify for SSP from day one of absence, not day three. Instantly you are trebling the amount of SSP if you work a standard retail scheme. That’s a significant cost.” He added: “Perhaps some people might be less inclined


to come to work. Have you got a back-to-work policy? Have you got a trigger system for looking for persistent absence? These kinds of things will become more important.” Many costs were rising faster than sales, he said,


noting: “Inflation and labour costs are here to stay. Inflation is going higher and we’ve had National Living


Ken Campling


Wage (NLW) increases higher than average inflation of wages for the last five or six years.” From April 1 this year the statutory NLW for UK


workers aged 21-plus rose by 4.1% to £12.71 per hour. Campling stressed increased wages for staff were “really


great” but said businesses were “highly exposed” and had “limited ability to absorb these kinds of costs”. “We need to think about what happens in the next few


years [with] higher payroll and overtime costs,” he said. He suggested agents invest in productivity and


automation to improve business processes and consider different scenarios to cope with the NLW increasing “faster than we’re selling”. Referring to Hays Travel’s decision to introduce a moratorium on spending due to the Iran war, he said: “We took action straight away to control our costs and that is vital in times of uncertainty.”


Hays encourages members to apply for funding support


Hays Travel is inviting more IG members to ask for funding support to expand their businesses. The call comes after the group made


£15.1 million available to IG members in the last 12 months. “We want to invest more; this isn’t


the limit,” said Jonathon Woodall- Johnston. “We have set aside a budget this year to invest in IG members. We don’t want you to have to go to the bank.” The group has only one shareholder,


owner Dame Irene Hays, which makes decision-making quicker, he added, with a target for reaching decisions on funding requests of 24-48 hours.


travelweekly.co.uk Dame Irene Hays IG members to have used funding from Hays Travel


include The Good Travel Company, Murray Travel, JLM Travel, Thorne Travel and Travellers World. Examples range from the opening of


a third store by JLM Travel to a radio campaign by Thorne Travel. Woodall-Johnston added: “We want


to continue to do this to help you to grow your businesses. “Don’t be afraid if there is something


on your mind about expanding or going into a new market. “We might be able to help you find


expertise if we don’t have it inhouse and help you financially.”


30 APRIL 2026 11


PICTURE: Nathan Roberts


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