It has been announced that the UK minimum wage will rise by 15p (2.5%) to £6.08 an hour from October 1, 2011 and is set to benefit almost 900,000 people. The 15p an hour rise applies to workers aged 21 and over. Meanwhile, the rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase by 6p to £4.98, [...]
Ireland’s Government has today, as expected, outlined its four-year austerity plan, in a move designed to bring down the country’s ballooning budget deficit. Ireland is aiming to save €15 billion (£13 billion) between 2011 and the end of 2014 – 11% of the economy‘s annual output. The measures include a reduction in the minimum wage [...]
The UK minimum wage will rise by 13p (2%) to £5.93 an hour today and is set to benefit almost one million people, according to the Low Pay Commission. The 13p an hour rise applies to workers aged 21 and over. Meanwhile, the rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase by 9p to £4.92, while [...]
The Government has announced that the UK minimum wage will rise by 7p to £5.80 an hour from October, despite warnings to freeze the hourly rate. According to the Government, almost one million people will benefit from the increase and the 7p an hour rise applies to workers aged 22 and over. In the meantime, [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is calling for Chancellor Alistair Darling not to increase the national minimum wage in Wednesday’s Budget. The request comes as the organisation is calling for measures to drive the private sector out of recession. Other measures including reducing corporation tax paid by small businesses, as well as introducing help [...]
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the first quarter of 2008 could see nearly 300,000 people lose their jobs in Britain, making it the worst year for jobs since the early 1990s. The organisation is warning that unemployment is set to rise even more over the next 12 months, taking the [...]
According to Fidelity’s third annual retirement index, British workers are set to retire on less than the minimum wage. A typical worker will see their earnings fall by over 50% on reaching retirement to just £215 per week – less than the income of someone who works 40 hours a week on the minimum wage [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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