The President of the Confederation of British Industry has said that contractors should warn its staff about the possible implications of a ‘Brexit’ vote.

Former Chief Executive of Wates and current CBI President, Paul Drechsler, also commented that if UK contractors care about the outcome of the up coming European Union referendum, then they should ‘do something about it’.

Mr Drechsler said that contractors should ensure that employees fully understand the implications of the referendum and how it will affect the businesses they work for.

He added that leaders in the construction trade should spend the next week discussing the issue in the offices, on site and ‘toolbox talks’.

He also warned that if a Brexit were to result in staff being laid off in two months time, then they would be asking why they weren’t given enough warning and advice before the referendum.

Mr Drechsler also asked contractors to be clear with their suppliers about what the implications of a Brexit would be.

He also warned that a vote to leave the EU could result in a ‘very significant shock’ for the UK’s economy.

The CBI President compared the EU referendum to the financial crisis of 2008 and said that the results of the vote could have similar implications to then, as nobody knew how it would impact the industry.

He added that the financial crisis resulted in years of major job losses for the construction industry in the UK and that a ‘leave’ vote would have no positive impact in the short to medium term.

Mr Drechsler believes that if there was a Brexit vote then the first area of the industry to be severely impacted would be the commercial sector.

In his opinion, the construction industry of the UK was reliant on free labour movement from around Europe, as it needed to access talent from the other 27 EU countries.