Workplace stress reaches ‘record height’ during pandemic October 7, 2020 2020 has been the most stressful year in history for the global workforce, according to a new report, as working from home and the threat of redundancy begin to take their toll on employees’ mental health. A survey of more than 12,000 employees, managers, and top executives across 11 countries found that the pandemic has [...]
West Ham install ‘Covid tunnels’ at training ground – could fans be next? October 7, 2020 Premier League club West Ham United have installed sanitisation tunnels at their academy training ground to protect staff and players. The tunnel operates initially as a temperature scanner before misting individuals with a controlled, odourless, water-based solution to disable bacteria and viruses. Taking just three to five seconds in total, the technology could in theory [...]
Bounce Back Loan scheme could cost the taxpayer up to £26bn October 7, 2020 The cost to the taxpayer of the government’s emergency loan scheme for struggling small businesses could be as much as £26bn, a new report has found. According to the National Audit Office (NAO), the cost of the government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme “has the potential to be very high” through a combination of firms being [...]
UK businesses borrowed more in one quarter than in whole of 2019 October 6, 2020 British businesses borrowed 50 per cent more in the second quarter of 2020 than in the whole of the previous year as the coronavirus crisis hammered the economy, new figures show. Businesses borrowed a total of £34.5bn in the three months to the end of June, according to a report by banking lobby group UK [...]
City urges government to rip up ‘fundamentally unfair’ immigration system October 6, 2020 The City of London Corporation has urged the government to shake up its “fundamentally unfair” immigration system to boost the UK economy’s post-pandemic recovery ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline. In a report released today in collaboration with EY, the City body called on the Home Office to “rip up the red tape” and [...]
Allianz boss warns over ‘zombie companies’ reliant on government support October 6, 2020 The chief executive of Allianz has warned there are a lot of “zombie companies” surviving only because of government support, but said that households were proving more resilient than many thought during the pandemic. “We are camouflaging for now the underlying effects, we have a lot of zombie companies now that are just surviving because [...]
Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s owner TRG sees central London pub and restaurant sales collapse October 6, 2020 Wagamama and Frankie & Benny's owner TRG sees central London pub and restaurant sales collapse
Technical glitch in UK’s coronavirus testing system fixed, minister says October 5, 2020 A technical problem in England’s coronavirus testing data system has now been fixed and should not happen again, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said this morning. The UK reported a record daily jump of 22,961 Covid-19 cases yesterday after authorities said a technical issue had meant that over 15,000 test results had not been [...]
Coronavirus: Tory MP slams local lockdowns as ‘devastating’ October 5, 2020 A prominent Tory backbencher has slammed the government’s introduction of local lockdowns across the UK as “devastating”, claiming they infringe on the public’s freedom and should be swapped for a “risk-based” approach. Tory MP and former Brexit minister Steve Baker told the Conservative party conference today that local lockdowns “aren’t working”, while dwindling hopes for [...]
Odeon to go ‘weekend only’ at a quarter of its UK cinemas October 5, 2020 Odeon has announced it will shutter a quarter of its sites during the week, marking the latest in a series of shake-ups to the UK’s ailing cinema industry in the wake of the pandemic. Odeon, which owns 120 cinemas in the UK and Ireland, has informed members of its Limitless loyalty scheme that a portion [...]