Global Business

After today’s Supreme Court ruling that Uber drivers should be classed as workers and not self-employed the inevitable comparisons with our old case have already started.

For those that need reminding, one of our former plumbers, Gary Smith sued Pimlico for employment rights, including back-dated holiday pay, despite being a self-employed plumbing contractor and signing a contract to that effect and earning more than £500,000 over three years from the company.

During his time with Pimlico Plumbers, he operated as self-employed and was VAT registered. He paid taxes on a self-employed basis, bought his own tools and materials, on which he reclaimed tax, also claiming for an office in his home, chose when he wanted to work, and even employed his wife to carry out secretarial tasks for him and offset that as a business expense.

This included a trip to the Supreme Court where Mr Smith was deemed to … Read the rest

We’ve often heard COVID-19 described as a health emergency, but, as the pandemic continues to rumble on, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we’re also in the grips of an economic emergency.

Almost two million people in Britain have not worked for more than six months during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by The Resolution Foundation.

Paul Naha-Biswas, CEO and Founder of Sixley explains that report found that up to 1.9 million people in January had either been out of a job or on furlough full-time for half a year – highlighting the lasting impact of the pandemic on the labour market.

At the same time, redundancies are rising at a record rate. And the Treasury’s independent economic forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has predicted that unemployment will hit 2.6 million by the middle of 2021 as the furlough scheme ends.

With the vaccine rollout underway, many … Read the rest

New research finds that one in three still don’t trust online bank transfers despite branch closures leaving no other option.

Since 2015, 3,836 bank and building society branches have closed, making online banking the only option for some consumers.

With HSBC marking the latest significant closures in the banking world, research from anti-money laundering specialists,

Faster Payments’ figures show that over two billion online bank transfers were carried out in the UK in the year leading up to September 2020, with a total transactional value of £1.3 trillion.

Despite this vast number of online bank transfers taking place, one in three consumers stated they do not trust bank transfers to be carried out safely and securely online.

The research also shows varying levels of trust across banks when it comes to money transfers.

In terms of age groups, 65+ year olds are the most sceptical, with 42% of this age … Read the rest

Forest Green Rovers – recognised as the world’s greenest football club by FIFA – has partnered with pioneering carbon negative mobility App SKOOT, connecting and reuniting football fans like never before.

Rovers is leading the way with a ground-breaking lift ride initiative that will help fans travel to games together, while offering help to fellow supporters and the community in need of important errands, before the latest lockdown restrictions ease.

Proudly carbon-negative and the first and only app of its kind, SKOOT becomes the Club’s Official Lift Partner For Fans and will connect FGR supporters who want to travel to matches together, alongside helping those in the local community who may need assistance, truly giving the fans a lift.

Rovers is the first football team SKOOT has worked with – and share the same ethos as the Club, with its mission to enable people to travel together or help each … Read the rest