Mitie: Covid and hybrid work prompted a makeover for cleaning tech – a mop and bucket won’t cut it May 26, 2021 The pandemic has given society the breathing space to redesign what a workplace should offer and in the age of the invisible virus, the humble mop and bucket won’t cut it. After a socially starved year, offices will likely become more collaborative and social in the future, adopting measures like ‘hot desking’. But these [...]
Lack of workplace flexibility will prompt a third of workers to leave, survey shows May 26, 2021 A third of UK employees would look for a new job if their company did not allow flexible working, according to a new survey. Findings from UK consultancy Barnett Waddingham, which surveyed more than 2,000 workers, showed that hybrid working has become imperative for employee retention. Of the 33 per cent who would seek a [...]
Sub-postmaster saga batters Post Office recruitment chances May 26, 2021 On April 23, judges quashed the convictions of 39 Post Office workers who were wrongfully convicted of stealing money thanks to a flaw in the Horizon IT system. Described as “the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of carriage”, the long-running saga put an ordinarily uncontroversial institution at the centre of a media firestorm. The business has [...]
Dominic Cummings to say PM said ‘Covid is only killing 80-year-olds’ to delay lockdown May 25, 2021 Dominic Cummings will tomorrow tell a joint parliamentary committee that Boris Johnson justified delaying a second lockdown last autumn by saying “Covid is only killing 80-year-olds”. The Prime Minister’s former aide will reportedly tell the meeting that Johnson said last September that he would not repeat March’s lockdown and that he said: “I’m going to [...]
UK-EU trade tumbles a quarter in first three months since end of Brexit transition period May 25, 2021 The total volume of trade between the UK and the EU plunged nearly a quarter in the first three months after the end of the Brexit transition agreement. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed that total trade fell 23.1 per cent in the quarter, as compared with the same three [...]
Iceland’s startup airline PLAY will be bound for London Stansted in June May 25, 2021 Iceland’s newest airline PLAY has launched its ticket sales for seven destinations across Europe, with its inaugural flight bound for London Stansted on 24 June. Giving away 1,000 free tickets, the startup airline saw them all snapped up within 3 hours of its website going live last week. The Stansted flights are set to run [...]
Culture Corner: The City’s back – here’s what’s on in June May 24, 2021 It’s happening! Culture has exploded and doors are finally open! Six million pounds has been allocated by the Mayor’s office to support ‘Let’s Do London’ and industry is contributing a further £1m. The campaign will include a major advertising push supported by London & Partners and TfL, alongside new content on the Visit London website [...]
Retirement villages may offer high streets their needed post-pandemic revival May 24, 2021 Retirement village provider Audley Group and BlackRock Real Assets have embarked on a £500m joint venture into the retirement living sector in the UK, which could bring high streets the much-needed footfall for post-pandemic revival. The joint venture, confirmed yesterday, will fund the development of at least three retirement communities, which will be ready for [...]
Brexit exclusive: UK-Norway trade deal close to collapsing as Christian-Democrats block pact to protect farmers from British beef and cheese May 24, 2021 A comprehensive free trade deal between the UK and Norway is at risk of collapsing as the Christian Democrat party fears such a pact would hit farmers in Scandinavia’s richest country too hard. The Christian Democrats party (Krf), part of the current coalition government, plans to block opening up the Norwegian market to British beef [...]
In defence of the long lunch: Business needs the human touch May 24, 2021 No-one quite knows when the long lunch suffered a mortal blow. Perhaps it was the financial crisis of 2007-08, when money lost its lustre. Perhaps it was before that, in the 1980s, when US working cultures flooded the City of London after the Big Bang. The grim phrase “al desko” was first recorded in the [...]