National Living Wage
This coverage explores the implications of the National Living Wage for UK retailers, including its impact on staffing costs, operational decisions, and workforce management. Reporting highlights wage policy changes, employer responses, legal obligations, and strategies to balance compliance with commercial performance — providing insight for retail executives, HR managers, and business owners navigating wage legislation.
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Jan- 2025 -9 JanuaryEconomy
BRC warns of 2025 headwinds despite lower Xmas inflation
Consumers benefited from lower inflation for the week to 7 December 2024, according to the latest BRC-Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index, yet the British Retail Consortium anticipates fresh headwinds for the new year. The later timing of Black Friday in 2024 meant that the first week of December included the…
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7 JanuaryNews
Bestway Retail removes fuel levy charge for Costcutter stores
Bestway Retail has announced the removal of the fuel levy charge, previously at £3.66 per delivery, for all mainland Costcutter stores for deliveries made on or after 1 January 2025. In addition to lifting the fuel levy charge, Bestway has also led the market in announcing an investment of more…
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7 JanuaryHigh Street
BRC warns of 2025 falling sales volume despite December sales growth
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned of possible falling sales volume in 2025 despite the modest increase in total retail sales experienced in December 2024. UK total retail sales in December 2024 increased by 3.2% year on year, against a growth of 1.9% in December 2023, according to new…
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Dec- 2024 -17 DecemberPeople Moves
Retail loses 225,000 jobs in five years
The retail industry has lost 225,000 jobs in the last five years, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On a four-quarter average there were 40,000 less jobs in the industry compared with last year. Overall there were 2.81m jobs in retail in September 2024, although this…
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12 DecemberElectrical
Currys HY losses narrow as it warns of price rises
Currys has posted a loss before tax of £10m for the half year ended 26 October 2024, up from £44m in the same period last year. Alongside this, the company posted a revenue of £3.9bn, up 1% year-on-year and driven by a like-for-like revenue increase of 2%. As part of…
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Nov- 2024 -28 NovemberSupermarkets
John Lewis ‘worried’ about increase in National Minimum Wage
John Lewis has told the Telegraph that it is “worried” about the impact of Rachel Reeve’s decision to increase the National Minimum Wage. As part of the budget, the chancellor confirmed that the National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds will rise 16.8% from £8.60 to £10, while pay for…
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19 NovemberEconomy
Retailers warn National Insurance increase could cause job losses
A number of large retailers have warned that the National Insurance increase could cause inflation and job losses, in a letter sent to chancellor Rachel Reeves. Over 70 businesses including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Next, Amazon, and Boots have written to Reeves, in a letter organised by the British Retail Consortium. The…
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15 NovemberNews-In-Brief
Today’s news in brief-15/11/24
The UK economy stagnated in Q3 2024, with GDP rising just 0.1%, a sharp slowdown from 0.5% growth in Q2. The services and construction sectors saw modest gains, but production shrank. Nominal GDP increased by 0.8%, driven by rising employee compensation. Economic uncertainty, partly due to the upcoming budget, hindered…
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15 NovemberEconomy
BRC warns chancellor Budget could cause inflation and job losses
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that the latest budget could cause inflation and job losses, in a draft letter seen by Sky News. In the draft, the BRC estimated that the National Insurance changes would increase retailers’ tax burden by £2.3bn annually. It also argued that the number…
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5 NovemberEconomy
Retail sales see weak growth in October amid pre-budget uncertainty
Total retail sales in the UK nudged up by only 0.6% in October, compared with a growth of 2.6% in October 2023, as retail was hit by ongoing uncertainty surrounding the autumn budget, the BRC has reported. The BRC also attributed this slowdown to the fact that the October half-term…
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