Business and Economics

In the weeks leading up to the June 23 Brexit referendum, the Bank of England warned that a vote to leave the European Union could result in a recession, raising fears that housing prices could plummet. Yet in the months following the controversial vote, inflation rates have stabilised and housing prices have slowly risen. Between May and August, housing prices increased by a total of 0.87%, with growth rates of approximately 0.15% each month. And as described below, a 0.063%...

In an economic climate in which it seems that every business is struggling, there are some that still thrive. Online bingo is an industry that has continued to grow and there are quite a few lessons that other UK businesses can use. This growth is even more impressive when you consider the taxes that are enforced on the gambling industry. The tax levied is actually more when the industry as a whole is considered, which means it’s even harder for...

Employer engagement is key to any business. To achieve success, your team will need to be thriving when presented with new challenges, actively sharing solutions with one another and helping share the workload across a busy workspace. A good way to nurture employer engagement within the workplace is team building exercises and Function18 agree. They’re a great motivator for employees, because after all, who doesn’t want to leave the office for a day and have a bit of fun? Don’t...

Workers in the UK working via employment agencies are not getting a fair deal, says the Resolution Foundation. The problem is growing as the number of agency staff has increased rapidly in recent years. The Think-Tank found that agency workers are disproportionately drawn from ethnic minorities and are concentrated in low-paid industries and lower-skilled jobs. There are now 865,000 agency staff in the UK, which has risen 200,000 since 2011. Over the last 18 months, 14% of agency workers were also...

When you think of all the equipment and money that goes into in-house payroll and HR—between hiring employees, payroll software, and technical equipment—is it really beneficial to your business? The responsibilities and extra expenses can become overwhelming, and you may not want to hire the extra employees. Because of this, more and more small business owners are turning to virtual Human Resources and payroll outsourcing. So you ask yourself, what are the benefits? It will save you money. There is...

Looking into the consequences of a cashless society online cartridge retailer, Cartridge Save have been speaking to people in the UK to find out how they would feel if we became cashless. The study, part of their research into how people in the UK have adapted to new technologies,looked at what technologies people have adopted in the UK and if they are ready to move into the future. They found that many people are happy to adapt to contactless technology, however...

We don’t need to rehash the general importance of mobile. The overwhelming majority of brands are now acutely aware of the very real need to ensure their digital experiences cater to customers on desktops, tablets and mobiles alike. Of course, not everyone executes mobile particularly well and there’s a notable amount of room for improvement on even some of the biggest brand web offerings. But we’re seeing things getting gradually better for users regardless of device. We’ve seen a lot...

Warning of shopper fatigue looks to have materialised this year as the Black Friday rush flops on the high street. Fences were erected outside many shops to avoid the chaos that broke out over the past few years, but they stood empty at the start of trading as most shoppers decide to stay at home to bag the best deals. Online spending on Black Friday is expected to reach £1 billion, up 16 per cent on last year, while it...

We are in an era of massive step change. In our politics, in our health and life expectancy, in our working habits, in our living arrangements, in our climate, in our communications, in our security, in the way we do business, in everything. Almost. It is clear there is one area where there is no change: our ability to respond to it effectively when it comes to the Autumn Statement. Yet again we get tinkering dressed up as major policy...