Business news 16 August 2022
James Salmon, Operations Director.
UK Employment Rates. Pay rates. Women less likely to ask. UK to cut import taxes for world’s poorest countries. Energy Freeze. And more business news.
UK Employment Rates
UK Employment Rates shrunk slightly between April and June, according to official figures, but remains at a historically high level.
UK job vacancies fell for the first time since August 2020.
The country-wide employment rate was 75.5 per cent in the three-month period, just 0.1 percentage points lower than in January to March, the Office for National Statistics revealed today.
The UK unemployment rate was estimated as 3.8 per cent of the population, 0.1 percentage points higher than in the first quarter of this year
Pay rates
Pay has fallen further behind the rising cost of living, according the latest official data. Average wages rose 4.7% between April and June (annualized) , still behind inflation which is 9.4%.
The gap between pay growth and inflation is the biggest since records began more than 20 years ago.
Private sector wages grew by 5.9% while those working in the public sector saw pay growth of 1.8%
Women less likely to ask
Women in the UK are less likely than their male colleagues to ask for a pay rise even though more females experience living costs rising faster than their salaries. Some 13% of men asked for higher wages, according to a YouGov survey, almost double the proportion of women who made the request.
UK to cut import taxes for world’s poorest countries
In a scheme covering 65 of the worlds poorest countries, the UK is to cut import taxes on hundreds more products to boost trade links. The Developing Countries Trading Scheme begins force in January and is similar to a European scheme we were part of prior to Brexit. Goods such as clothes, shoes and foods not widely produced in the UK will benefit from lower or zero tariffs.
Energy Freeze
Centrica and Octopus have backed a plan to freeze UK energy bills for two years. Two of the UK’s biggest energy suppliers have joined calls to devise a fund that could freeze customer bills for two years.
Heathrow
Heathrow will extend the existing limits on the airport’s capacity through to 29th October after consultation with airlines
Sage
Sage Group said it has acquired Lockstep, which provides cloud native technology for accounting workflows between companies. “The acquisition of Lockstep accelerates Sage’s strategy for growth by broadening its value proposition for SMBs and by expanding Sage’s digital network,”
Ted Baker
Ted Baker has agreed to £211 million takeover from Reebok owner Authentic Brands Group, ending a several months long formal sales process.
European Gas prices
Gas prices hit new highs on the continent, rising over 3% to 477 Euros per megawatt-hour, 6 times the price last year.
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak has pledged to overhaul a “bloated” civil service if he becomes PM and called for senior civil servants to spend at least a year of their career outside Whitehall to avoid “groupthink”
New vaccine
The government has approved a dual target covid-19 vaccine specifically designed to target the Omicron variant, becoming the first country to do so. The “Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron” vaccine, made by Moderna, looks set to be used in a booster campaign this autumn.
Apple
Apple set a return-to-office deadline of 5th September for corporate employees. Staff will have to work Tuesdays, Thursdays and a regular third day determined by individual teams.
Why should you become a CPA member!
The Credit Protection Association (CPA) has been assisting thousands of UK businesses to get paid since 1914. We have seen many financial crises, this one will be particularly deadly for suppliers for some time to come.
CPA eases cash from tardy debtors – Efficiently, Effectively, Economically and Ethically. And we provide credit information so you can monitor and assess your key customers.
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It takes less than 17 minutes to see how you would benefit, do you have the time now?
No face-to-face meeting required – just call Peter Uwins, CPA’s National Sales Manager, on 020 8846 0000 (business hours) or email nsm@cpa.co.uk today.
When you see your money come in, you will be so glad you used CPA.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Do you have a commercial late payer that is causing you grief? Use CPA’s no-win, no-fee, commercial debt recovery service!
If you have a particular business customer who is late paying and causing you sleepless nights, why not offer it to CPA for purchase on recourse?
CPA’s collection department will then pursue the debt. We will be liable for any costs incurred and then when we have recovered the debt, we will pay you the net principle debt recovered less our percentage.
Once you have enjoyed that success then you can consider the more cost effective membership which includes our Overdue Account Recovery service and Status/Credit reports as well as a range of other complimentary services.
Just call 020 8846 0000 and ask for Godfrey Nelson or Cris Shirley (business hours) or email debtpurchase@cpa.co.uk today.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.
Get compensated for previous late payments
Have you been paid late by business customers in the last six years?
Maybe you no longer work with them. Under legislation, you are entitled to compensation you for those late payments you have suffered.
You put up with the PAIN – now claim the GAIN!
Claim late payment compensation (LPC) from former business customers who paid you late in the last six years!
CPA (LPC) Recoveries is using our bespoke software and decades of experience to do just that for our clients
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.