Business News Articles

Unpaid overtime at record high
More UK workers are putting in unpaid extra hours than ever before as staff battle to keep hold of their jobs and companies look to control costs, according to the TUC. ... more

Pension savings in small firms is ‘inadequate’
Savings levels in pension schemes offered by small firms need to be doubled in order to provide staff with an adequate retirement income, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). Saving levels are at similar levels to 1996 and the ACA has warned that pensions for employees of small firms retiring now and in the near future are, "increasingly inadequate." The trade body sur... more

Office workers receive average of 450 emails on return to work
The average office worker will have 450 emails, 70% of which will be spam, awaiting them when they return to the office today after the Christmas break. Small business workers are being advised to not delete all the messages, as it could lead to vital information being lost. "It brings a cathartic pleasure [deleting all messages] but you may be deleting critical information," advises Bob Hal... more

House prices continue to fall
House prices in England and Wales fell by 1.9% in November, taking the year-on-year figure to 12.2%, according to figures released by the Land Registry. ... more

Employers can ‘save money’ by retaining staff
Firms are being advised that they can save more money by keeping staff as the average redundancy costs employers over £16,000 before any savings are made, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). "While making people redundant can seem one of the most straightforward ways of cutting costs, redundancy is itself a significant cost to most organisations with a num... more

Second banking bailout considered by Chancellor
Alistair Darling is reportedly considering a second banking bailout as the lending crisis worsens. The Chancellor will soon decide whether to inject more money into UK banks as evidence grows that the initial £37bn bail-out has not stimulated borrowing as expected. This follows a report released by the Bank of England that banks decreased lending in the final quarter of 2009 and are current... more

House prices declined over 16% in 2009
The average price of a home in the UK has fallen to the lowest level since August 2004, according to figures released by the Halifax. A drop in value in December of 2.2% brought the average cost of a home down to just under £160,000. Prices dropped by over 16% in 2008 – the largest drop since the lender began records in 1983 – and follow news from the Bank of England that getting a mort... more

BCC call for national minimum wage to remain unchanged in 2009
The national minimum wage should be left at current levels in 2009 due to the economic downturn, according to The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The BCC believes that the minimum wage should not be increased until the economic situations had significantly improved, as many businesses are already struggling and an increase at a similar level to 2008 would cost firms around £300m. "We'... more

Over half a million small firms shutting for two weeks over Christmas
Over half a million small businesses in the UK are closing for the full two-week period over christmass, accroding to research by the Federation of Small Business (FSB). Thiis is the highest figure in over a decade and equates to almost 10% of the small, non-retail, businesses in the UK. 'Obviously small retailers won't be closing, but small manufacturers and self-employed workers such as el... more

UK economy predicted to shrink by 2.9% in 2009
A group of independent economists have predicted that the UK economy will shrink by just under 3% in 2009 – the largest contraction since 1946. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) expect investment in businesses to decrease by 15%, causing real problems for the economy with firms struggling to access finance. "Despite public declarations by the government that the banks o... more