John Lewis boosts staff pay despite losses Retail Retail giant John Lewis has announced a £108m investment in staff pay despite losses at the retail giant tripling over its last financial year. The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns supermarket Waitrose, announced on Wednesday it will hike shop floor pay by 6.9 per cent, which it says will boost the pay packet of [...]
Reeves’ Budget tax hikes force nearly 5,000 pubs to the brink hospitality The tax hikes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last year’s Budget have contributed to almost 5,000 pubs now being rated at maximum risk and becoming technically insolvent, according to new research. Figures from Price Bailey have revealed that just over 4,7000 pubs are now in that position, a 14 per cent rise on this [...]
Public sector pay outpaces private amid Budget pressures Economics Public sector pay has outstripped private sector pay on an annual basis, according to new official data, with the added pressures on public finances set to force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hike taxes at the Budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said annual average regular earnings growth was 4.4 per cent for the private [...]
Why don’t London’s luxury hotels make any money? October 13, 2025 London is home to some of the most iconic and well-known luxury hotels in the world. The Savoy, the Ritz, The Dorchester and Claridge’s, to name just a few, are renowned the world over and have played host to the ultra wealth, celebrities and royalty. Also appearing in a string of popular films, London’s luxury [...]
Can Liverpool really add £10bn to its economy? October 13, 2025 The Labour mayor of the Liverpool City Region has unveiled a 10-year plan to create tens of thousands of jobs and add £10bn to the local economy. Steve Rotheram’s “bold and ambitious” plan has been described as a “roadmap” to increasing wages, driving investment, raising living standards and providing better services for the region’s 1.6m [...]
Anthropic: UK staff get eye-watering sums at AI giant October 9, 2025 US AI giant Anthropic is paying its UK staff eye-watering financial packages as it attempts to build a foothold in this country. The business, which only launched in the UK at the start of 2023, increased its headcount from six to 43 in 2024 while its staff costs rocketed from £3.6m to £24m. Its wage [...]
Job vacancies tumble in July as hiring appetite eases August 26, 2025 UK job vacancies tumbled in July following a strong June performance, with entry level roles still suffering from a weak job market. Vacancies fell month on month following June’s strong rebound, down 1.24 per cent to 864,705, according to the latest job market report from Adzuna. Average salaries suffered a slight fall, slipping to £42,264 [...]
Unemployment creeps up as firms cut jobs following Reeves tax raid June 10, 2025 The unemployment rate has crept up to 4.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent, official data has revealed, putting Chancellor Reeves’ ambition of growing the UK economy and getting people into work under threat. It is the highest unemployment rate in three years, with the UK economy then recovering from the pandemic. Figures released by [...]
Hospitality ranks bottom for UK wages as sector struggles with costs June 3, 2025 Hospitality workers are now the worst-paid employees in the UK as the sector continues to struggle with high costs. A combination of high energy prices, high wholesale prices and high taxes have squeezed margins in the last two years, making it hard for a sector pummelled by the pandemic to recover. Accommodation and food service [...]
Businesses face billions of extra costs as wages and tax to rise March 30, 2025 UK businesses are set to face a multibillion-pound wave of higher costs this week as higher wages and tax increases come into force. Retail and hospitality bosses have warned that higher labour costs and taxes are set to push up prices for customers across the UK. A raft of measures linked to the Labour government’s [...]