July Budget 2015: George Osborne announces pay rise for Britons with “national living wage” July 8, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has said he will introduce a compulsory "national living wage" for people aged over 25 as part of his July Budget. Osborne said today that the new "national living wage" will start next April at the rate of £7.20 per hour, before rising to £9 an hour by 2020. He said it means [...]
July Budget 2015: Every key policy announced today July 8, 2015 George Osborne revealed the first Budget of the government, including policy changes on everything from pensions and inheritance tax to bank levies and the Northern Powerhouse. Here we round up all the essential points from the Red Box. 1. A surplus will be reached by 2019 Osborne pledged to reduce the deficit by [...]
July Budget 2015: From a new living wage to cutting the bank levy, the key policies that will affect UK businesses July 8, 2015 Today was Britain's first Conservative-only Budget in almost 20 years, and in it chancellor George Osborne revealed a series of policy changes that will affect UK companies Here are the key announcements he made in the business-friendly budget, and what they mean for the UK's companies. Cut to corporation tax The amount of corporation [...]
Red tape to blame for City skills shortage: Demand for professionals stays strong but supply hampered by UK immigration rules July 7, 2015 Tough immigration rules and excessive regulatory standards has left City firms with severe skills shortages, according to new surveys. Growth in the number of jobs secured dropped to a two-year low in June, data released today by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation revealed. Demand for professional workers – which covers finance, law and IT among [...]
Rebound in the confidence of London firms after General Election July 7, 2015 London business confidence has rebounded after the General Election, new survey figures show. However, large sectors of the national economy are still struggling for momentum. An improvement in economic growth over the next year is expected by 49 per cent of London business leaders, according to a survey from the London Chambers of Commerce and [...]
Two more bad arguments for why Britain needs a mandatory living wage July 6, 2015 With £12bn of working age welfare cuts expected in this Budget, Conservative voices are clamouring for the “living wage” to be used as a means of reducing in-work poverty. In the past week, two celebrity former advisers to the Prime Minister, Steve Hilton and Rohan Silva, have argued the government should boost the national minimum [...]
Top companies readying plans for expansion July 5, 2015 The UK’s largest companies are planning to loosen their purse strings and fund expansion plans according to a survey of top finance chiefs published today. Expanding into new markets or introducing new products and services was seen as a strong priority for the next 12 months by 41 per cent of chief financial officers (CFOs), [...]
July Budget 2015: Pressure mounts on government to back a living wage July 5, 2015 Raising the minimum wage to the so-called “living wage” would lift 6m people out of poverty and generate more than £4bn of additional revenue, according to a new report out today from KPMG. The living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation charity, is £7.85 per hour nationally and £9.15 in London. The national [...]
Business in Britain: London firms’ confidence dips against UK average July 5, 2015 Lloyds Bank today released figures showing that business confidence in London has fallen slightly against the national average. The biannual Business in Britain report surveyed 1,500 UK SMEs and found companies in London expected increased orders and profits over the next six months. However, limited growth meant the overall measure of confidence fell [...]
UK recruiters’ revenues reap the benefit of strong job market July 5, 2015 Recruitment firms are seeing income soar as a result of Britain’s booming job market. Fees earned from placing workers have risen for 83 per cent of recruiters this year, according to figures released today by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco). Stronger business activity is leading many in the recruitment industry to consider expansion, [...]