Employment

The number of people in work fell by the largest margin in four years in August as the uncertainty created by the Brexit talks weakened Britain’s previously robust labour market. The employment figures dropped by 56,000 in the three months to the end of August from the previous quarter after a shake-out of high street retail jobs and redundancies across much of the manufacturing sector. Unemployment increased back to 3.9% of the working population from 3.8% in the previous quarter to reflect growing signs that the jobless total is about to begin a sustained rise from its previous 40-year lows. A recent surge in pay also came to an end in August after average weekly earnings dropped, from 4% to 3.8%. Pay including bonuses also increased at 3.8%. Annual total pay growth, adjusted for inflation, was put at 1.9%, with annual growth in regular pay estimated at 2%. Another indication of the worsening situation could be found in the falling number of vacancies, which dropped for an … [Read more...] about UK’s robust jobs market dented amid big fall in employment

Jennifer Arcuri (pictured at home in California) 'was struggling to remain in Britain after experiencing visa problems when she was allegedly handed the £10,000 sponsorship at the centre of the Boris Johnson scandal' Jennifer Arcuri was struggling to remain in Britain after experiencing visa problems when she was allegedly handed the £10,000 sponsorship at the centre of the Boris Johnson scandal, it has been claimed today.  Ms Arcuri, 34, entered the UK on a student visa in 2011 to do a one-year MBA in London.  After her course ended in 2012 she acquired a tier two employment visa and started working for a tech start-up called Title X.  The company went out of business in mid-2013 and Arcuri was left 'sponsored by a company that no longer existed'.  Allegedly the only way she could stay in the UK was to raise £200,000 needed for an entrepreneur visa, which is when, The Sunday Times reports, she was reportedly handed £10,000 by the Mayor of … [Read more...] about Jennifer Arcuri ‘was struggling to remain in the UK and her employment visa was no longer valid’ when her tech firm was handed the £10,000 sponsorship at the centre of Boris Johnson scandal

A husband-and-wife team who built their tourism business from the ground up say they hope to save the jobs of all 2,500 former Thomas Cook staff, after buying the collapsed tour operator’s 555 shops. John and Irene Hays, who run Sunderland-based Hays Travel, the Just Go Travel operator, snapped up Thomas Cook’s UK travel agency business for an undisclosed fee, in a takeover sealed at 11.53pm on Tuesday. Trade unions said the deal proved parts of the business were viable, despite the government refusing to provide financial support to keep it alive, while Labour called for a full public inquiry into its collapse last month. The shops will be rebranded under the Hays Travel banner, meaning the 178-year-old Thomas Cook name will disappear from the high street in the wake of its high-profile implosion. The Hays, who have already hired 597 former Thomas Cook staff, said they hoped to double the headcount of their family business by taking on the tour operator’s entire … [Read more...] about Thomas Cook stores buyer hopes to re-employ entire 2,500 workforce

The government should take action to end the “rampant injustice” facing some workers in the gig economy, according to a report by the independent MP Frank Field. Field, who is chair of the work and pensions select committee, is calling for a fast-track system for employment tribunals involving worker status cases, as well as the introduction of a single labour market regulator. The report says there is evidence some companies continue to exploit workers whom they had wrongly classified as independent contractors. “Unions are caught up in court cases that are going on for seven years. The idea that the law is working is farcical,” Field said. His report comes after Gary Smith, a heating engineer from Kent, last week lost a bid to claim £74,000 in holiday pay despite spending years to establish he was a “worker” entitled to such benefits in a case against Pimlico Plumbers which ended in the supreme court. Field said employment tribunals should be … [Read more...] about Frank Field demands action on ‘rampant injustice’ in the gig economy

A former Irish Guardsman has claimed that a Harrods director and her PA launched a “witch-hunt” to have him sacked as a security guard after he stopped them carrying coffee through the luxury department store. John Perrett told an employment tribunal that he was following health and safety rules when he stopped merchandise manager Caroline Lyons and PA Chloe Marsh from carrying the beverages into the store, an act that is against company policy. He said the women were rude and aggressive and tried to intimidate him by saying they were getting the coffee for the HR and retail director, Sarah Andrews. He was later dismissed from his £928-a-week job for gross misconduct. Perrett is claiming sexual discrimination, saying the women’s allegation that he was aggressive was held in higher regard than his own because he is a man. The 6ft 5in former soldier, who is demanding £91,000, told the central London employment tribunal that when he stopped the women and … [Read more...] about Irish Guardsman sues Harrods over ‘witch-hunt’ after coffee row