A technology company has cancelled its trial of a four-day working week after finding the scheme increased staff stress, made them unhappy and did not improve productivity.
Category: News
The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
Hunt tells jobless: Make more effort to find a job or face benefit cuts
Tens of thousands of benefit claimants will face lower payments if they fail to look for work, under a clampdown to be announced by Jeremy Hunt.
Some firms unaware of England’s new single-use plastic ban which is just days away
Firms have said that they were not aware of a ban in England on single-use plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays that comes into force on Sunday.
UK households face tax rise of £3,500 a year by next election, thinktank IFS finds
UK households are facing an average tax rise of £3,500 a year by the next election, the country’s leading economics thinktank has said – the biggest increase over a parliament on records dating back more than 70 years.
UK mortgage approvals drop to six-month low in August
Mortgage approvals fell to the lowest level in six months in August as prospective homeowners stayed away from the property market and average mortgage costs approached 5 per cent.
Government ramps up digital skills with 2,500 new tech recruits
2,500 ambitious tech talents will be recruited into digital roles in government by June 2025 through new apprenticeship and early talent programmes, the Cabinet Office has announced.
Childcare costs ‘soaring by £600-plus a month’ as staff are make office return
Parents of nursery and primary school-age children are facing more than £600 of extra childcare costs a month, a study has found, as employers demand staff spend more days in the office.
Teesside stainless steel firm grows business with £26M export finance package
A government credit guarantee has allowed Teesside stainless steel alloy inventor and manufacturer Paralloy to secure up to £26 million of a Santander UK bank guarantee facility to support the continued growth of its export business.
UK government quietly disbands AI ethics advisory board just months before hosting global conference
The UK government has disbanded the independent advisory board of its Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) without any announcement amid a wider push to position the UK as a global leader in AI governance.
Labour mayors urge Sunak not to scrap, delay or scale back HS2
Five Labour mayors have urged Rishi Sunak not to scrap, delay or scale back HS2 as it would “leave swathes of the north with Victorian transport infrastructure that is unfit for purpose”.
Scrapping inheritance tax would cost £15bn a year by 2032, says IFS
Scrapping inheritance tax would cost the government almost £15bn a year in lost revenue by 2032, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies
US Trade Commission sues Amazon for using power to create monopoly
The US Federal Trade Commission has accused Amazon of wielding monopoly power to inflate prices and stifle innovation in a landmark lawsuit taking aim at Big Tech’s dominance of the internet.
Meta pays £149m to end lease of London office without moving in
Meta, the owner of Facebook, has paid £149 million to surrender lease on a London office block having not moved in any staff two years after signing the deal.
Senior business leaders back Keir Starmer’s call not to ‘diverge’ from EU
Senior business leaders and trade bodies have backed Keir Starmer’s comments that Britain should not part from the European Union on standards ranging from the environment to employment.
Number of workers taking sick leave hits 10-year high
Stress was one of the biggest contributors to a rise in workplace absences over the past year, according to research that found the number of workers taking sick leave has hit a 10-year high.
