Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Increased productivity and improved staff wellbeing were among the results of a year-long trial of the four-day week by the Scottish government.Two public bodies, South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) and Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), took part in the pilot, which was launched by Holyrood in early 2024.The two organisations, which had 259 employees in total throughout the trial, implemented a 32-hour working week for a year without any loss in pay or benefits for staff, while committing to maintaining standards of service.AiB and SOSE staggered the non-working day among staff to allow the bodies to function as normal, while part-time staff were offered proportional reductions in their working time.Staff at the two organisations reported less work-related stress and greater satisfaction with their jobs and work-life balance
Annual energy bills set to rise £35 in October, Trump slaps 50% tariff on India – as it happened
The energy regulator for Britain, Ofgem, has said it will increase the cap on energy bills from October by 2%, the equivalent of a £35 rise in annual bills for the average home.Here’s more details of the energy price cap just announced, from Ofgem.If you are on a standard variable tariff (default tariff) and pay for your electricity by Direct Debit, you will pay on average 26.35p pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standing charge is 53
Woolworths struggles to win back ‘price trust’ from customers – and investors – as Coles’ value rises
Woolworths has shed more than $5bn in market value as it struggles to regain customer “price trust” and stretches product availability.Australia’s biggest supermarket chain on Wednesday reported sales rose 3% in the year to June and 2% in July and August compared to the year before, while profits in 2024-25 fell by a fifth, to nearly $1.4bn.Its market value slipped from more than $40bn to less than $35bn on Wednesday, while Coles rose to a record value of $31bn.Coles has attracted a greater share of sales, recording faster growth of 4% in the year to June and 5% in July and August on the year before, lifting annual profits to more than $1bn
JD Sports sales slump in UK as fragile consumer confidence concerns retailers
JD Sports has revealed a slump in UK sales, amid mounting concern that brittle consumer confidence will damage retailers.Revenues in established UK shops fell 6.1% as the leisurewear company struggled to beat strong trading last year, when it received a boost from the men’s Euro 2024 football tournament and women’s growing taste for sports footwear such as Adidas’s Samba and Gazelle.The company said it had invested in cutting prices online amid “tough comparatives”, especially on footwear for women and children.The sales slide in the UK in the 13 weeks to 2 August contributed to a 3% fall in underlying group sales in the period, with sales increasing only in the Asia Pacific region
People in the UK: how have you been affected by the rise in food prices?
Food inflation in the UK has hit 4.2% this month with there being a “significant increase” in the cost of staple foods such as butter and eggs. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said prices had risen at their fastest pace for 18 months.Those on low incomes are most affected by food price inflation because they spend disproportionately more of their monthly budgets on the essentials of life compared with the wealthiest, who have more room to cut discretionary spending.How do you feel about food inflation? Have the price rises changed your shopping or eating habits?You can tell us how you have been affected by the increase in food prices by filling in the form below, or messaging us
Tough talk from Streeting – but he still needs a deal with big pharma
Wes Streeting gets top marks for fighting talk in his battle with the pharmaceutical companies over the price of prescription medicines. After the health secretary walked away from talks with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) on Friday, he stuck the boot in. The “shortsighted” pharma industry had rejected “a serious and generous” offer, he said. It should be more “collaborative” instead of making “unaffordable” demands. The government could not allow British patients and taxpayers to be ripped off
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Ryanair to raise bonus to €2.50 for staff who spot oversized cabin bags
Ryanair will pay airport staff increased and unlimited bonuses of €2.50 for every non-compliant carry-on bag they take from passengers, the airline’s boss has announced.Passengers whose cabin cases exceed the maximum dimensions for a small suitcase are charged fees of up to £75 and their luggage is taken into the hold.The fines have outraged some travellers, especially when it emerged that staff at the boarding gate have been incentivised to spot oversized bags.However, an unrepentant Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, said the airline would be upping the bonuses to keep baggage to the correct size
Thames Water agrees payment plan for £123m sewage and dividend fines
Thames Water has agreed a payment plan with the industry regulator for fines it owes worth £123m, as it races to secure funding to avoid temporary nationalisation.The utility company, which serves 16 million customers across London and the south-east, is trying to pull together a deal to avoid collapse.The debt-laden utility company was hit with a record £104m fine by Ofwat in May over environmental breaches involving sewage spills, after failing to operate and manage its treatment works and wastewater networks effectively.At the same time, a further £18.2m fine was levied on Thames for breaking dividend rules, the first penalty of its kind in the water industry
US parents and teachers: share your experiences of AI in schools
Students in grades K-12 have been invited by Melania Trump to take part in a nationwide contest designed to encourage the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help solve community issues. The first lady wants students to “unleash their imagination and showcase the spirit of American innovation” by participating in the government-sponsored contest.We want to hear from parents and teachers on their experiences of AI in schools. How do you feel about it being used in education? Do you support it or are you against it?You can tell us what you think of the use of AI in schools by filling in the form below.Please include as much detail as possible
Half of UK adults worry that AI will take or alter their job, poll finds
Half of adults in the UK are concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on their job, according to a poll, as union leaders call for a “step change” in the country’s approach to new technologies.Job losses or changes to terms and conditions were the biggest worries for the 51% of 2,600 adults surveyed for the Trades Union Congress who said they were concerned about the technology.AI is a particular concern for workers aged between 25 and 34, with nearly two-thirds (62%) of those surveyed reporting such worries.The TUC poll was released as a string of large employers – including BT, Amazon , and Microsoft – have said in recent months that advances in AI could lead them to cut jobs.Britain’s job market is slowing amid a cooling economy, with the UK’s official jobless rate at a four-year high of 4
‘Really tough decision’: US captain Keegan Bradley does not pick himself for Ryder Cup
Keegan Bradley hopes a selfless act can turn into US points after the Ryder Cup captain resisted strong temptation to combine his role with playing duties at Bethpage in September. His confirmation ended the prospect of a first Ryder Cup playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.The US turned to Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young and Sam Burns to back up the six automatic qualifiers in an eagerly awaited announcement made by Bradley on Wednesday.Bradley had finished ahead of Burns, Cantlay and Young on the US points table. The 39-year-old is the No 11‑ranked golfer in the world and eighth among Americans, but ultimately he decided it would be either unreasonable or unnecessary to perform two jobs at once
F1 race to the title: Norris and Piastri go toe-to-toe as Hamilton and Verstappen seek uplift
Returning from the summer break and with 10 races to go, there are plenty of targets remaining across the paddock besides McLaren’s shootoutRevitalised after the summer break, 10 races remain between this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix and the finale in Abu Dhabi in December – and it will be Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris going head to head for the title.Only nine points separate the McLaren duo, who are in a two-horse race for the team’s first drivers’ championship since Lewis Hamilton’s triumph in 2008. The advantage has swung between them, at times from one race to the next, in the first part of the season, often with little to choose between the two. Neither driver has been able to definitively claim the upper hand entering the championship run-in. It looks set to remain a nip-and-tuck fight to the wire
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