John Lewis blames higher taxes as it swings into the red September 11, 2025 A rise in national insurance contributions and a packaging levy has ‘significantly’ impacted John Lewis, with the retailer reporting a half-year loss despite an increase in revenue. The company, which also owns Waitrose, reported a loss before tax and exceptional items of £33m for the 26 weeks ended 26 July. It has been “significantly impacted [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax raids drag UK to world’s worst hiring slump September 9, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax raids on employers have continued to harm the economy with fresh figures showing the UK had the worst hiring slump across the globe. The UK suffered the biggest global drop in year-on-year planned hiring, contracting 17 percentage points. Singapore, Hungary and Finland, which followed, all contracted nine per cent, according to [...]
Retail sales fall for eleventh consecutive month August 27, 2025 UK retail sales have continued their steady decline as price pressures weigh on already-stretched consumers, according to new data. The CBI’s monitor for annual retail sales was little changed at -32 in August, from -34 in July. “Weak demand and higher labour costs continue to put pressure on margins, dampening sentiment across the retail and [...]
One bad apple: The rise of partner vetting at law firms August 7, 2025 In a highly competitive market, law firms are ramping up their vetting process for new partners to avoid issues down the line
Law firm partner hiring surges in City amid private equity boom July 25, 2025 Demand for new partners with private equity expertise has reached an all-time high, as top US law firms continue to dominate lawyers appetite
London hiring plunges as Rachel Reeves’ tax grab weighs July 14, 2025 London hiring has suffered a steep drop as rising costs weigh on employers following Rachel Reeves’ tax grab. Permanent staff places in the capital – hires with no fixed end date – fell at the sharpest rate in 22 months in June. Meanwhile, temporary bills, which track the total income recruitment agencies earn from placing [...]
Retail and graduate job vacancies continue to plummet May 27, 2025 Retail and graduate vacancies fell further in April despite overall improvement in the number of available UK jobs. UK vacancies dipped 0.95 per cent in April to 862,876, but annual growth remained positive at 1.02 per cent, according to Adzuna’s latest jobs report. Average advertised salaries hit a new record of £42,278 – up 0.75 [...]
UK resilience buoys Robert Walters amid global hiring slowdown April 15, 2025 Recruiter Robert Walters reported a tough first quarter of 2025, amid a global hiring slowdown and persistent economic uncertainty weighing heavily on recruitment activity. The group cited a combination of cautious employer sentiment, escalating trade tariffs, and shifting economic landscape as key factors disrupting the field. Despite the broader slowdown, the UK was the group’s [...]
Nearly half of UK companies say tax increase is impacting hiring April 6, 2025 Nearly half of all companies across the UK are scaling back hiring plans in response to an increase in employment taxes and labour costs. New research has found that 46 per cent of firms thought recruitment decisions would be impacted, with many reporting that they were already not hiring or postponing recruitment, according to Reed. “Everyone understands that [...]
Gattaca: Ongoing industry troubles hit recruitment specialist April 2, 2025 affing specialist Gattaca has reported a slowdown in profit due to persistent difficulties in the recruitment market. The firm told markets this morning that profit after tax fell 34 per cent to £0.5m in the six months ended January 31. Net fee income, a key performance metric in the recruitment industry, fell three per cent [...]