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.
-
Dec- 2024 -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…
Read More » -
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…
Read More » -
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…
Read More » -
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…
Read More » -
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…
Read More » -
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…
Read More » -
Oct- 2024 -31 OctoberEconomy
Budget reaction: Retail warns that higher costs will hamper investment
The retail industry has warned that increased costs following the Autumn Budget may hit businesses hard, with retailers facing higher costs amid new measures that come into place next April, with some warning the sector will face over £2.5bn in new costs in 2025.Yesterday, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a series…
Read More » -
30 OctoberEconomy
Budget: Increases to employers’ NI and minimum wage
The chancellor Rachel Reeves has increased Employers’ National Insurance contributions in a bid to help raise as much as £40bn in taxes, pledging to also boost long-term growth and “mark an end to short term-ism” as part of Labour’s first budget since it came into power. Employers’ national insurance contributions…
Read More » -
29 OctoberHigh Street
New Look pre-tax losses narrow despite fall in FY sales
New Look has reported that its pre-tax losses narrowed from £87.8m to £21.7m for the year to 30 March, despite sales dropping 8.9% to £769.2m due to store closures and “tough” trading conditions. During the period, New Look saw retail revenues fall by 11.5% to £555.1m, which was impacted by…
Read More » -
Sep- 2024 -24 SeptemberNews
Today’s news in brief-24/9/24
Harrods has launched an internal investigation to determine if any current staff were involved in allegations of rape and sexual assault made against its former owner, Mohamed Al Fayed. The inquiry follows a BBC documentary and podcast titled Predator at Harrods, which detailed claims made by multiple women who worked…
Read More »
