Flexible working could become a ‘right for all’ under new legislation June 30, 2021 Shadow children’s minister Tulip Siddiq today introduced the Flexible Working Bill, aimed at giving workers a right to flexible working arrangements. Siddiq said the Bill, introduced through the Ten Minute Rule, would “give workers the right to flexible working from the first day of employment, except in exceptional circumstances” and “require employers to offer flexible [...]
‘Grave concerns’ over multi-million pound cuts to City of London Police June 28, 2021 The City of London Police Federation pushed 125 elected representatives to pressure the City of London Corporation to rethink £2.3m of cuts to the force. In a letter sent to 25 aldermen and 100 councillors in the City, chairman of the City of London Police Federation Mike Reed said the body had “grave concerns” over [...]
US and UK job markets may look similar, but they are on very different paths June 28, 2021 The US and Europe adopted very different approaches to providing labour market support during the pandemic but as their economies re-open they appear to be experiencing similar problems: worker shortages, a growing number of unfilled vacancies and wage pressures in some sectors. What’s going on? Let’s start with the labour market support programmes themselves. The [...]
UK credit score giant Clearscore heading for unicorn status after $200m Invus injection June 24, 2021 Clearscore, a free-to-use credit check company based in London, has reportedly accepted a $200m (£144m) investment from US-based fund Invus Opportunities. As reported by Sky News, the deal values the company at $700m (£503m), placing it on track for unicorn valuation. The company plans to use the funding to grow its staff numbers, product offerings [...]
Small businesses battered by Covid restrictions see return to pre-pandemic sales June 24, 2021 Small businesses are seeing their sales slowly creep back toward pre-Covid levels, but sectors such as hospitality and arts and recreation still have a way to go. An analysis of the records of hundreds of thousands of companies shows that the health of small businesses has remained steady. However, despite the easing of lockdown restrictions [...]
Number of Brits on furlough falls to record low of 1.5m as job adverts rise June 24, 2021 The number of Brits on furlough in early June fell to its lowest since the start of the pandemic as easing Covid restrictions allowed most businesses to reopen. Six per cent of staff, or around 1.5m people, are still on furlough, a large drop from the 3.4m who used the scheme across March and April. [...]
Confidence among UK business leaders highest since Brexit vote June 24, 2021 UK bosses’ confidence in the economy was buoyed by vaccine optimism to its highest level since just after the Brexit referendum, a new survey has shown. The confidence tracker from the Institute of Directors (IoD), a body for business leaders, has been in positive territory for around 12 months. A positive score means more company [...]
EU citizens told to apply to post-Brexit scheme within 28 days to stay in UK June 23, 2021 EU citizens who have not already applied to the EU Settlement Scheme will be given a 28-day period to apply to remain. While the scheme closes in a week, the Home Office has said it will allow EU citizens indefinite time to complete their application if they have a reasonable excuse. The government was previously [...]
Never Gonna Give EU Up: Radiohead and Bob Geldof plead for support to continue Euro tours June 23, 2021 Over 200 artists have backed a campaign pushing the government to act on Brexit-related red tape around touring in the EU. The #LetTheMusicMove campaign, launched today, was set up by the Featured Artists’ Coalition (FAC). It is calling for a “transitional support package” to cover new costs placed on UK artists and music businesses after [...]
UK business confidence at a three-year high despite skills shortages June 23, 2021 UK business confidence at a three-year high despite skills shortages