Uber president Jeff Jones quits after six months in role March 19, 2017 Uber president Jeff Jones has quit his role after little more than six months in the job, the car hailing giant has confirmed. A spokesperson for the firm said: “We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best.” Second in command at the car hailing firm to Travis Kalanick, Jones [...]
The majority of gig-economy workers want employment rights such holiday and sick pay – but they’re still happy March 17, 2017 The majority of people who are part of the gig economy want access to the same benefits as traditional employees such as holiday pay, new research reveals. Some 1.3m people in the UK are workers in the gig economy, the human resources trade body CIPD estimates, with 63 per cent saying the government should regulate to ensure [...]
The Office Group is expanding to Hammersmith March 16, 2017 Co-working office provider The Office Group is expanding its footprint in the capital, taking out a 20-year lease on a building in Hammersmith. The company is opening up 61,000 square feet (sq ft) of flexible office space across the lower eight floors of 1 Lyric Square, a block located just minutes from Hammersmith tube station. [...]
The trends the world’s top firms are cheering March 15, 2017 Corporate fundamentals are now seen to be improving – in all regions and sectors. After three years of deteriorating sentiment, our annual Analyst Survey, encompassing the views of 146 equity and fixed-income analysts, has found there’s much more confidence among the world’s largest companies. Demand growth is back, and we find signs of reflation, rather [...]
Hailo merges with Daimler-owned MyTaxi to take on Uber in London March 13, 2017 There's no shortage of taxis and minicabs in the capital, with an array of companies competing for passengers, from Uber to Gett to Addison Lee, and of course London’s stalwarts: the black cabs. So, it may seem rather late in the game for a cab company to try and make inroads in the market, but Mytaxi [...]
Uber is looking for a woman to fill its new chief operating officer position March 12, 2017 Uber is reportedly searching for a female executive to join the firm as its new chief operating officer and help rein in under-fire boss Travis Kalanick. The ride-hailing app announced a new position which could be viewed as either the best or worst job in tech last week after recent troubles pushed Kalanick to search for someone to keep the [...]
The man leading a major review of workers rights thinks National Insurance rise is progressive March 12, 2017 The man put in charge of a major review into workers rights and the rise of the gig economy has called the chancellor's election pledge-breaking rise in National Insurance for the self-employed "progressive" and "economically rational". "As tax rises go, this is broadly progressive," said Matthew Taylor, the head of the Royal Society of Arts [...]
Editor’s notes: Hammond falls down the cracks between politics and policy, the bigger threats to the media than Rupert Murdoch and why the UK needs a new army of trade negotiators March 10, 2017 There are plenty of people willing to defend the chancellor’s controversial raid on the self-employed, not least the chancellor himself who was out and about yesterday claiming that the government faced “some new challenges” and that it has “to pay for these things somehow”. As opposition to the move grows on his own backbenches, he [...]
London Assembly members have sided with Uber over English language tests and want the mayor Sadiq Khan to drop written plans March 9, 2017 London Assembly members have sided with Uber in the battle over English language tests, despite Transport for London triumphing in court last week. The majority of members have backed a motion calling on the mayor Sadiq Khan to ditch the requirements for written tests for Uber and other minicab drivers due to the disproportionate and unfair [...]
Tax rise on national insurance “modest but welcome” says IFS on chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget March 9, 2017 Moves by chancellor Philip Hammond to increase national insurance tax on the self-employed are “modest but welcome”, according to an influential economics think tank. Paul Johnson, head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said the tax increase will help “shore up the tax base and create a slightly less unequal playing field.” The increase [...]