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 [...]
Indeed: Global interest in UK jobs post-Brexit lifts to pre-pandemic levels June 17, 2021 Searches from across the world for UK-based jobs have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to jobs site Indeed, as international workers eye easing travel restrictions. The UK’s new points-based immigration system has seemingly drawn in interest for its higher-paid jobs post-Brexit after Indeed’s new job rates slumped in the height of pandemic uncertainty. As the government [...]
Close to home: Demand for city centre offices drops as hybrid working picks up June 16, 2021 Suburban office markets outperformed city centres for the first time in ten years, with six out of nine major cities seeing a drop in workstation rates. Research published today found demand was driven by workers rejecting both working from home and returning to crowded cities. The shift to smaller towns was also influenced by companies [...]
UK unemployment rate falls to 4.7 per cent as lockdown easing spurs hiring June 15, 2021 Britain’s unemployment rate fell to 4.7 per cent between February and April, official figures showed this morning. The rate of employment in the UK increased for the sixth consecutive month in May, with the number of payrolled employees rising by 197,000 to 28.5m. It is however 553,000 below pre-pandemic levels, where the largest falls in [...]