UK needs 10m tests a week, says Premier League’s coronavirus adviser August 17, 2020 The company behind the Premier League’s coronavirus testing efforts has backed calls for the government to introduce a UK-wide testing scheme by the end of the year. Avi Lasarow, chief executive of testing firm Prenetics, has called on the government to swap its half-price restaurant scheme for a universal testing service across the UK. He [...]
London advocacy groups call for Waterloo and City Tube line to reopen August 17, 2020 London lobby groups have called for the reopening of the Waterloo and City Tube line to help increase the number of people going back to their offices. The shuttle service – which travels between Bank and Waterloo stations – is the only Tube line still not operating, after Transport for London (TfL) restricted public transport [...]
Schroders becomes first major City firm to make home working permanent August 16, 2020 Fund manager Schroders will allow thousands of its employees to continue working from home even after the pandemic, marking a huge shift in the way the City works. The FTSE-100 listed firm is the first major City institution to tell staff they will not be required to return to the office five days a week. [...]
Sadiq Khan admits empty offices are a ‘big problem for central London’ August 13, 2020 Sadiq Khan has warned for the first time that empty offices in central London are causing a “big problem” for the economy. The mayor of London admitted that small businesses were struggling with the dramatically reduced footfall as huge numbers of people continue to work from home. He urged big firms to reconsider decisions to [...]
Sadiq Khan pleads with PM to save struggling West End August 13, 2020 Sadiq Khan has called on Boris Johnson to rescue London’s West End as central London businesses struggle to rebound from the coronavirus crisis. Khan wrote to the Prime Minister today, after lobby group The New West End Company predicted that there would be a £5bn drop in retail sales for the district this year. The West [...]
Brits optimistic about returning to work despite safety concerns August 13, 2020 British workers are largely optimistic about returning to the office, though concerns remain over whether employers will put the right safety measures in place. Just under half of UK employees said they felt positive about going back to work, while less than one in five said they felt negative, according to a new survey. The [...]
PwC boss Kevin Ellis: returning to work like ‘crossing the Rubicon for some people…you have got to make them feel safe’ August 12, 2020 The chair and senior partner of PwC UK Kevin Ellis said the Big Four firm had found it needed to overcome fear among some of its workers to help them return to the office. Speaking on City A.M.’s The City View podcast, Ellis said: “It is about crossing the Rubicon for some people…you have got [...]
The City View: PwC chairman Kevin Ellis on why the office matters August 12, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS In this episode Christian talks to Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner at audit and consultancy giant PwC. Kevin talks about why he’s kept his company’s offices open and why so many of his staff are keen to get back in, even if just for a couple of days [...]
Half of businesses fear staff at risk of pandemic burnout August 11, 2020 Almost half of managers at British businesses fear their staff are at risk of burnout, as the pandemic forces employers to adapt to new ways of working. More than a third of employees surveyed by recruitment firm Robert Walters that their mental health and wellbeing had suffered as result of working longer hours during the [...]
Derwent London hikes dividend as landlord expects resilient office demand August 11, 2020 Property firm Derwent London this morning said it expects demand for office space to be resilient despite the coronavirus pandemic, saying there is “no substitute” for face-to-face collaboration. The landlord hiked its dividend for the first half of the year as it said it is confident about the future of the role of the office, [...]