Sandwich skills shortage? Pret a Manger boss Andrea Wareham is worried about filling jobs after Brexit March 9, 2017 Brexit may be putting your avocado habit under threat, after the HR boss of Pret a Manger admitted she will struggle to fill jobs if she is only allowed to hire British applicants. At a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, Andrea Wareham said just one in 50 people applying for jobs at the [...]
John Lewis has slashed its staff bonus to six per cent March 9, 2017 The John Lewis Partnership has slashed its staff bonus in the face of an "uncertain market" in the year ahead. The bonus, one of the key perks for John Lewis employees (also known as partners), was cut to six per cent of salary, totalling £89.4m. Last year, the employees were given a 10 per cent bonus. In [...]
Sports Direct share price falls after unveiling plans for the UK’s first board worker rep March 9, 2017 Mike Ashley's Sports Direct said it was breaking new ground in good corporate governance after announcing it is kicking off the process to elect the UK's first board worker representative. All "directly-engaged workers" can put their names in the hat for the high-profile role and the firm will then conduct an extensive "assessment" process, before putting a selection of candidates forward [...]
Morrisons is feeling pretty chill about #Marmitegate, saying price rises will be “minimal” March 9, 2017 The chairman of Morrisons supermarket has reassured shoppers that he will be minimising any price rises on groceries following the Brexit vote. The price of a grocery basket became a source of controversy last year when Unilever demanded higher prices from supermarkets, but Tesco refused – leading to a stand-off that became known as #Marmitegate. But [...]
Morrisons (MRW) share price fell this morning after it reported strong profit and sales growth – here’s how City analysts have reacted March 9, 2017 Shares in Morrisons dipped by 4.6 per cent at the open, after the supermarket reported annual profit and sales growth for the first time in four years this morning. Turnover was up 1.2 per cent to £16.3bn, while profit before tax rose by 49.8 per cent, to £325m, signalling that chief executive David Potts' turnaround is [...]
Morrisons (MRW) share price dips at the open after it reports annual profits and sales growth for first time since 2012 March 9, 2017 Morrisons has reported a 50 per cent increase in profit for the year to 29 January, with turnover and earnings growing despite store closures. The figures Turnover was up 1.2 per cent to £16.3bn, from £16.1bn the year before. Profit before tax rose by 49.8 per cent, to £325m from £217m, while underlying pre-tax profit was [...]
Budget 2017: Government announces plans to crack down on VAT evasion March 8, 2017 The government is cracking down on overseas traders that avoid paying UK VAT. In the Spring Budget today the Treasury has said that it will be putting in place measures to stop traders from undercutting UK businesses online by charging less and not paying tax on UK sales. To draw up a new collection method for VAT, [...]
Budget 2017: Alcohol duties set to rise as the chancellor makes no changes to planned increases March 8, 2017 Alcohol duties are set to rise as Philip Hammond today said he will make no changes to "previously planned upratings". The duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits will increase with inflationary rises, or 3.9 per cent. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said the rise will cost pubs around £125m. Brigid Simmonds, chief executive [...]
Budget 2017: The sugar tax will raise less revenue than expected (but it’s a good thing) March 8, 2017 The chancellor today set the rate for the so-called sugar tax, but he said sugary drink producers have already worked to reduce the quantity of the sweet stuff in their drinks, which means a lower revenue forecast for his tax. "This is good new for our children," said Philip Hammond during his Budget speech. Drinks with a total sugar [...]
Budget 2017: The new cigarette tax will be based on a pack price of £7.35 March 8, 2017 A new minimum excise tax (MET) will raise prices of the cheapest cigarettes. During his Budget speech today, chancellor Philip Hammond said the so-called floor on cigarettes is based on a pack price of £7.35. An MET is effectively a floor price that will hike the price of low-cost brands in an effort to encourage smokers to quit rather than switch [...]