Retail sales: Shoppers feeling the love in lead up to Valentine’s Day not enough to protect sector from ‘volatile trading conditions’ March 7, 2023 Shoppers scrambling for gifts in the lead up to Valentine’s Day helped boost retail sales in February, however the sector has warned that it’s still facing “volatile trading conditions”. According to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK total retail sales increased by 5.2 per cent in February as consumers showed they were [...]
Cost of living crisis: One in seven Brits have skipped meals because they cannot afford to eat March 7, 2023 One in seven people have skipped meals due to the rising cost of living, according to a survey. Almost one in 10 have prioritised meals for other family members above themselves and 4% have used a food bank, the Which? consumer insight tracker found. Some seven in 10 (72 per cent) have turned the heating [...]
Eon set for hiring spree to handle strain of energy crisis on customers March 7, 2023 Renewable supplier Eon Next has announced plans to hire more than 1,300 people to improve its services for customers.
Love it or loathe it, VAT free shopping only makes our tax system even more unwieldy March 7, 2023 If you want to give luxury stores a leg up at the expense of local businesses and create an even more complicated tax system - VAT free shopping is for you, writes Ben Ramanauskas.
Sadiq Khan urges government to commit to making all public bodies a ‘safe haven for women’ March 6, 2023 Sadiq Khan is urging the government to back his call for a review of “women-friendly” workplace policies ahead of International Women’s Day. The mayor of London is calling for public bodies to commit to supporting female workers with domestic abuse, gynaecological pain, leadership development, and the menopause. He has written to work and pensions secretary [...]
Costa Coffee hikes staff pay as cost of living crisis prompts chain to raise wages for third time in 12 months March 6, 2023 Costa Coffee became the latest coffee chain to give its staff a pay rise, as employers seek to retain employees who are battling a cost of living crisis. Beginning in April, some 16,000 baristas at the high street coffee chain will see wages increase from £10 per hour to £10.70 per hour. The rise is [...]
Striving for success in 2023? Turn to your partners to find the right balance March 6, 2023 2022 showed us just how much can change in a year. We saw UK businesses emerge from the grips of the pandemic with a sense of cautious optimism. It even seemed like normal service might finally resume. The battle for talent got more competitive as employees made their new working expectations clear. ESG commitments moved [...]
Chancellor to face ‘tough choices’ in delivering Spring Budget despite having to borrow £30bn less March 6, 2023 Jeremy Hunt will be forced to make tough decisions in his upcoming Budget, experts have warned, despite the Chancellor having considerably more wiggle room than previously thought. Improvements in the state of the British economy mean Jeremy Hunt will have to borrow £30bn less than the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) November forecast showed, according [...]
Banks must pass on rate hikes to savers – or risk a windfall tax, warn experts March 5, 2023 Banks should pass on higher interest rates to savers in order to stave off pressure for a windfall tax, a host of experts have warned. Calls for a windfall tax on the banking sector have grown after most of the UK’s largest lenders recorded strong profits in their latest results. After a decade of ultra-low [...]
Lloyds Pharmacy puts all 1,300 sites under threat of closure in another blow for post-Covid UK high street March 3, 2023 Lloyds Pharmacy has put all of its 1,300 sites at risk of closure in another major blow for the highstreet. According to reports in The Sun, the private equity owner of the embattled chemist has launched a “strategic review of its entire UK store base”. It’s understood that process could lead to a sale of [...]