One in ten part-time retail jobs at risk from changes to tax thresholds February 26, 2025 A leading retail body has warned that up to 160,000 part-time jobs could be at risk over the next three years due to the rising cost of employment. Part-time roles are particularly susceptible to tax changes announced at the Budget. Retailers will be taxed on any employee earning more than £5,000, down from the current [...]
Retail job vacancies have almost halved in a year February 24, 2025 The number of advertised jobs in retail has almost halved in the last year as companies continue to buckle down on costs. Job vacancies have fallen 42.25 per cent in the last year, the most significant drop in any UK sector, according to Adzuna’s latest jobs report. There has been a contraction in retail for [...]
Retailers unite to warn Treasury on ‘perfect storm’ of costs February 11, 2025 A heavyweight group of retailers has warned the Treasury that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk in the retail sector due to unsustainable cost hikes this year. It’s the latest in a long string of warnings from the retail sector, which has been vocal about the coming damage to jobs and investment on [...]
Tesco to cut 400 jobs as it moves to ‘more efficient’ working January 29, 2025 Tesco has announced plans to cut more than 400 jobs in a bid to improve efficiency at the grocer, following in the footsteps of Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. The supermarket giant said that the “more competitive than ever” market means it must “work hard… to offer our customers unrivalled value”. “This means always being open [...]
Young’s: Pub chain in ‘great shape’ after Christmas despite Budget burden January 16, 2025 Young & Co have reported an excellent Christmas trading period, with optimism abound despite a higher cost burden for the hospitality sector this year. The pubs-and-rooms operator, which has around 228 pubs and 5,600 employees, said that revenue in the five weeks to January 13 rose 30.4 per cent, with like-for-like sales up 11.6 per [...]
Most retailers will hike prices in response to Reeves’ NI Budget raid January 15, 2025 Two thirds of CFOs have said their business will be forced to raise prices as a result of higher wage bills, according to a new survey. Around 70 per cent of respondents to the survey, which looked at the attitudes of CFOs at 52 retailers, were “pessimistic” or “very pessimistic” about trading conditions over the [...]
Dunelm boss: A rise in the living wage is good for our company November 27, 2024 The boss of Dunelm has said that an above-inflation increase to the minimum wage will have a positive effect on the home furnishings giant, despite a flurry of retailers decrying the increased bill. Dunelm chief executive Nick Wilkinson said that the resulting increase in consumer confidence – due to higher disposable income – will ripple [...]
B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher: Weak trading in France and £45m tax hit cause shares to plummet November 25, 2024 Shares in Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, have dropped nearly 13 per cent after it tightened profit guidance due to weak trading in France and a higher tax bill in both France and the UK. Kingfisher expects the impact of changes to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) announced in the UK’s latest [...]
London pubs giant Young’s issues Budget warning after £11m costs hike November 14, 2024 Pub giant Young’s, which has locations across London and the South East, has insisted it has no plans to increase the price of drinks despite the Budget adding around £11m in annual costs. The listed group said it was instead focusing on increasing efficiency, better use of technology and internal investment in order to deal [...]
Founders warn of hiring freeze ahead of national insurance hike November 14, 2024 A majority of founders are warning they will have to implement a hiring freeze ahead of the employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) increase set to come into effect this spring. The warning signs follow Rachel Reeves’ announcement in the Budget last month of a 1.2 per cent increase to employers’ NICs, taking the total to [...]
