UK hospitality sector calls for changes to test and trace system July 1, 2021 Hospitality trade association UKHospitality has called for an immediate review of the government’s test and trace isolation guidelines. It says current measures are “massively disruptive” to the sector. The body says existing staff shortage problems are being “compounded” by staff being told to self isolate. It says the current system can lead to whole teams [...]
British Council could cut 2000 jobs after budget slash July 1, 2021 The British Council has started planning a redundancy consultation, potentially resulting in 2000 jobs being cut. The action follows a drop in funding from the government. The public body announced last week it would have to cut 15-20 per cent from the organisation over the next two years due to the financial impact of the [...]
Barclays to up junior bankers’ base pay to $100,000, following Wall Street rivals June 30, 2021 UK bank Barclays is expected to increase base pay for junior bankers to $100,000 amid an exodus of young workers. The pay hike would bring the company’s rates in line with those announced by JPMorgan this week. In April, Bank of America also increased junior banker salaries by up to $25,000. While the changes are expected [...]
Flexible working could become a ‘right for all’ under new legislation June 30, 2021 Shadow children’s minister Tulip Siddiq today introduced the Flexible Working Bill, aimed at giving workers a right to flexible working arrangements. Siddiq said the Bill, introduced through the Ten Minute Rule, would “give workers the right to flexible working from the first day of employment, except in exceptional circumstances” and “require employers to offer flexible [...]
‘Grave concerns’ over multi-million pound cuts to City of London Police June 28, 2021 The City of London Police Federation pushed 125 elected representatives to pressure the City of London Corporation to rethink £2.3m of cuts to the force. In a letter sent to 25 aldermen and 100 councillors in the City, chairman of the City of London Police Federation Mike Reed said the body had “grave concerns” over [...]
UK credit score giant Clearscore heading for unicorn status after $200m Invus injection June 24, 2021 Clearscore, a free-to-use credit check company based in London, has reportedly accepted a $200m (£144m) investment from US-based fund Invus Opportunities. As reported by Sky News, the deal values the company at $700m (£503m), placing it on track for unicorn valuation. The company plans to use the funding to grow its staff numbers, product offerings [...]
Small businesses battered by Covid restrictions see return to pre-pandemic sales June 24, 2021 Small businesses are seeing their sales slowly creep back toward pre-Covid levels, but sectors such as hospitality and arts and recreation still have a way to go. An analysis of the records of hundreds of thousands of companies shows that the health of small businesses has remained steady. However, despite the easing of lockdown restrictions [...]
Number of Brits on furlough falls to record low of 1.5m as job adverts rise June 24, 2021 The number of Brits on furlough in early June fell to its lowest since the start of the pandemic as easing Covid restrictions allowed most businesses to reopen. Six per cent of staff, or around 1.5m people, are still on furlough, a large drop from the 3.4m who used the scheme across March and April. [...]
KPMG told to expect £250m claim for Carillion collapse June 23, 2021 Accounting giant KPMG is expected to be told to pay £250m for its role in the collapse of outsourcing firm Carillion, its former client, in 2018. On behalf of the Insolvency Service, lawyers have warned KPMG to expect a claim. The expected move is part of an effort to reclaim funds that will be used [...]
Never Gonna Give EU Up: Radiohead and Bob Geldof plead for support to continue Euro tours June 23, 2021 Over 200 artists have backed a campaign pushing the government to act on Brexit-related red tape around touring in the EU. The #LetTheMusicMove campaign, launched today, was set up by the Featured Artists’ Coalition (FAC). It is calling for a “transitional support package” to cover new costs placed on UK artists and music businesses after [...]