Queen’s speech 2017: Here’s the full text of Theresa May’s plan covering Brexit, HS2 but no mention of US President Donald Trump visit June 21, 2017 The much anticipated Queen’s speech for 2017 has been delivered, outlining Theresa May’s plans and her pledge to win “the trust and confidence” of the British people. Read more: Live: The Queen’s speech The Queen’s speech: The full text My Lords and Members of the House of Commons. My government’s priority is to secure the [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s plan for a £10 minimum wage by 2020 questioned by business groups April 10, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will today push for an hourly £10 minimum wage by 2020, launching the policy with a speech at Luton Football Club. Under current forecasts, the national living wage will reach £8.75 over the same period. “We know that where work pays, living standards rise and reliance on benefits falls,” Corbyn is [...]
Trouble in store: More pain on the way for UK retail April 10, 2017 A triple-blow of tax hikes, rising costs and a squeeze on consumer spending is threatening to wipe out thousands of British retailers, with a string of familiar high street names expected to fall into administration this year. Nearly 23,000 retailers were under significant financial stress at the end of the first quarter according to insolvency [...]
Emergency rate productivity hit was worth it to save 1.5m jobs, says Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane March 20, 2017 Slashing interest rates in the aftermath of the financial crisis has saved 1.5m jobs, the Bank of England's chief economist said today. Speaking at the London School of Economics, Andy Haldane noted, while the ultra low interest rate environment had hampered productivity, it was worth it to keep over a million people in work compared with a [...]
Rejoice? Unemployment hits its lowest since 1975 – but the experts aren’t so happy March 15, 2017 Unemployment in hit its lowest level since 1975 in the three months to January while the rate of working-age adults employed stayed at record highs. However, weaker wage growth at a time inflation is rising has given economists – and sterling – pause for thought. The government was cock-a-hoop. Damian Hinds, minister for employment said [...]
Public sector pay has started falling sooner than forecasted – and it’s going to keep falling March 15, 2017 Average real pay is falling in the public sector, and it's expected to drop further over the next three years, new research shows. The Resolution Foundation's latest earning outlook, which will be published today, forecasts average real pay in the public sector will fall below 2004-2005 levels by the end of the parliament (2019-2020). Forecasts released [...]
The chancellor’s shambolic national insurance hike is based on a faulty reading of aggregate statistics March 14, 2017 "Britain is damning itself to be a low wage, low productivity economy”. How many headlines like that have we read over the past few years? Certainly, the UK has performed poorly when it comes to overall real wage growth since the financial crisis, reflective of weak aggregate productivity growth. But often these average statistics are [...]
Tesco returns nearly £10m to 140,000 employees after payroll error March 9, 2017 The UK's biggest supermarket will return nearly £10m to 140,000 current and former staff after discovering a payroll error that meant they did not receive the national minimum wage. Tesco said the payments will be up to £40 for each of the employees affected, and that they will be handing out the payments by the end [...]
John Lewis increases profits as it battles tough market conditions March 9, 2017 The John Lewis Partnership announced a profit rise today – but warned of a tough year ahead due to rising costs and structural changes in the retail industry. The figures For the year ending 28 January, the Partnership's profit before the bonus, tax and exceptional items, was up 21.2 per cent to £370.4m. This was [...]
John Lewis has slashed its staff bonus to six per cent March 9, 2017 The John Lewis Partnership has slashed its staff bonus in the face of an "uncertain market" in the year ahead. The bonus, one of the key perks for John Lewis employees (also known as partners), was cut to six per cent of salary, totalling £89.4m. Last year, the employees were given a 10 per cent bonus. In [...]