General Election 2015: Will the government raise the minimum wage? February 23, 2015 Minimum wage in the UK should rise by 20p to £6.70 an hour, according to the Low Pay Commission. The rise, the commission says, should take place in October, and would mean a pay rise for 1.2m workers. If the government decides to implement the rise, which it may do in next month’s budget, it [...]
Businesses don’t hate plans by the Low Pay Commission to raise the minimum wage by three per cent February 23, 2015 The CBI has welcomed a recommendation by the Low Pay Commission, the body which advises the government on the minimum wage, to raise it by three per cent. Katja Hall, the body's deputy director-general, called the plans a "careful balance". In a letter to the Secretary of State today, the Commission suggested raising the national [...]
Rothschild eyes pre-election bonus payouts to avoid Ed Balls tax February 23, 2015 Financial giant Rothschild is considering whether to hand out 2014 bonuses to staff early in order to avoid potential taxes that could be brought in if Labour wins the election. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has promised to introduce a £1.5bn to £2bn tax on bonuses during its first year in office to fund a “jobs [...]
UK investment bank Rothschild could pay bonuses early in case Labour wins February 22, 2015 UK investment bank Rothschild is weighing up paying staff bonuses early, in order to avoid new taxes that could be brought in if Labour wins the general election. The Financial Times spoke with two sources “familiar with the bank’s thinking” and revealed the banks could pay bonuses to its 1,000 London staff before the traditional [...]
HSBC under pressure to lower bonuses following tax dodging inquiry February 21, 2015 Top executives at HSBC are being encouraged to waive their bonuses for the year, following allegations the bank abetted tax dodging clients. Shareholders, politicians and large sections of the media will place the bank’s bonuses under intense scrutiny when its annual reports are released on Monday. According to the Financial Times, shareholders [...]
Bonuses down despite strong year for Britain’s biggest banks February 19, 2015 Payouts for top bankers have taken a tumble so far this year, according to industry data seen by City A.M., as the bonus cap combined with investor and political pressure takes its toll. Preliminary data from pay benchmarking site Emolument.com shows bonuses for front office staff falling precipitously this year compared with last year’s pay [...]
UK unemployment falls again: How do other EU countries compare? February 19, 2015 The unemployment rate in the UK dropped again yesterday, falling to 5.7 per cent. The UK, like the United States and Germany, is lucky to have a growing workforce and luckier still to have growing wages. Across the European Union, countries are in far greater distress. Some, like Greece have very high unemployment: in Alexis [...]
UK employment rate matches highest level since records began February 18, 2015 JOBS MARKET figures improved in the final months of 2014 despite economic growth slowing. There were 30.9m people in work in the period from October to December, according to figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is 103,000 more than the period July to September and 608,000 more than the same time [...]
In charts: Bonuses help push UK wage growth up to 2.1 per cent as unemployment falls February 18, 2015 The UK’s unemployment rate tumbled to 5.7 per cent between October and December, while growth in pay rose to its highest since 2013, according to "corking" figures published by the Office for National Statistics today. Pay leapt 0.4 percentage points to 2.1 per cent including bonuses, but slowed to 1.7 per cent excluding bonuses. The [...]
Ocado delivers first profit of £7.5m but cuts bonuses by 40 per cent February 12, 2015 Grocery delivery service Ocado reported its first profit yesterday, of £7.5m for 2014, up from the £5.1m loss in 2013, although top executives had their bonuses slashed by around 40 per cent. Executive directors only reached half their targets, resulting in total bonuses paid dropping nearly £800,000 compared to 2013 totals. Group sales went up [...]