Future of work: ‘Freedom Day’ fails to trigger mass return to the office August 9, 2021 “Freedom Day” has failed to trigger a mass return to the office, according to new data published today. Research from Remit Consulting shows the proportion of staff in the office in the UK hit 11.7 per cent in July, a meager increase from 11.1 per cent before the Work From Home guidance was dropped by [...]
Cabinet ministers plan big push to get civil servants back to Whitehall August 9, 2021 Cabinet ministers are planning a big drive to get civil servants back to the office after concerns grow regarding the lack of staff at desks. Senior cabinet ministers have expressed their concern at the number of those still working from home, with one telling The Times that career prospects should be mentioned in the drive [...]
Boris Johnson reportedly threatens to demote Rishi Sunak August 8, 2021 Boris Johnson reportedly threatened to demote Rishi Sunak earlier this week in a fiery Downing Street meeting. Johnson was said by officials in attendance to be “apoplectic” about the leaking of a letter from Sunak that criticised the Prime Minister’s borders policy. Johnson is said to have only found out about the letter from last [...]
The Office: Clean air becoming a key part of the return August 6, 2021 If London is to get back on its economic feet after the COVID-19 pandemic, it needs workers to come back to the office. Many people are saying that the future of work will be different, with employees requesting more of a balance between office and home working. Maybe so, but some employers will insist on [...]
Treasury launches £750m insurance scheme to cover Covid-related live event cancellations August 5, 2021 Costs associated with the cancellation of festivals, conferences and other live events due to Covid-related restrictions will be covered almost entirely by the government under a new £750m scheme. The Treasury will team up with Llloyd’s of London to deliver the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, which will give companies the option of purchasing cover from [...]
Law firms brace as chancellor mulls over new tax on legal sector August 5, 2021 Rishi Sunak may be considering imposing a tax levy on the revenues of large commercial law firms, to help to prop up the ailing legal aid system, according to reports. The chancellor may be contemplating reviving the idea of a bespoke levy on commercial legal practices, an idea first suggested five years ago by then [...]
Johnson and Sunak call for investment ‘big bang’ in UK to aid recovery August 5, 2021 The prime minister and the chancellor have called on the UK’s institutional investors to plough more capital into UK assets to ignite an “investment big bang” that drives an economic recovery from the pandemic. In a joint letter with Rishi Sunak, Johnson said the UK’s institutional investors should “seize the moment” and use their “hundreds [...]
CBI chief Lord Bilimoria: Workers must return to office ‘as soon as possible’ August 4, 2021 The president of the CBI has called on workers to return to the office “as soon as possible” today. Speaking to TalkRadio, Lord Karan Bilimoria said: “We should be getting back to work wherever possible, as soon as possible, as safely as possible.” Read more: Rishi Sunak: For young people, working from home is no [...]
The Office: Time for Government to offer certainty and direction August 4, 2021 Life has changed immeasurably over the past eighteen months, and the world of work is no different. Many office workers have now been working from home for over a year and habits have changed. Is hybrid working the future? There are certainly plenty of advocates suggesting that sofas, laptops and 8:59 alarm clocks are the [...]
Back to the office: Business groups echo Sunak’s concerns about young workers August 3, 2021 Business groups have echoed Rishi Sunak’s warning that “young people in particular” are missing out on “valuable” experience through remote working. In an interview with LinkedIn the Chancellor cautioned that remote working can be a poor substitute for in-person workplaces. His comments follow the decision to lift guidance to “work from home where possible” on [...]