I must say that when I was training with the LA-81 - the naval version of the iron site SA80, I found the recoil to be pretty viscious, certainly far greater then the Lee Enfield 303 that I had used previously in the ATC some years previous.
That said, the SA-80 and all its variants are.. well quite frankly crap, the fall to bits, jam frequently, are supplied with poor grade return springs, the firing pin tends to snap way too often and given the wieght and range of the things, are all round poor.
They're too big and bulky around ship to really be considered a replacement for the sterling SMG (which, if you're on board ship, you DON'T want HV ammo flying around) and lacks the range and reliability of the SLR (Which was an absolutely superb weapon).
That said, I'd take a bren gun (LMG - fired one once at a range, beautifull weapon) over either, as it is stupidly accurate and so reliable its daft. Not to mention that the recoil is easier on a person despite its using a larger calibur round.
