Business

The perfect job is a four-day, 24 hour week with a salary of £61,000 a year, free fruit and a boss who likes a pint, according to new research. Other requirements for the ideal role are regular reviews and pay rises, being allowed to work in jeans, flexible working hours and a pension. The report also revealed the dream job would be a 12 minute walk from home, provide a pleasant view from the office window and offer 32 days...

I have something of a unique take on charity in so far as I only started working in the sector when I landed a role as the Managing Director of Personal Fundraising Services in 2013. I had never worked as a fundraiser myself, nor did I have more than an average amount of knowledge of the charity world, but instead came from a very successful background in retail and sales with a leading supermarket chain. I was used to a...

Sports Direct chairman Keith Hellawell tried to rosy up the company's beleaguered financial report by claiming it has contributed £1.8 billion in taxation to the UK economy - even though £1.3 billion was paid in VAT by customers. Mike Ashley's high street brand blamed "currency headwinds" for a big drop in underlying pre-tax profits in its last financial year. It reported trading earnings of £113.7 million over the 12 months to 30 April - down 59 per cent on the previous year...

British businesses must break their silence on the under-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) in key roles, according to new research from professional management body the CMI and the British Academy of Management. Only six per cent of management jobs in the UK are held by minorities – less than half their proportion of the working-age population as a whole. Yet new research finds that only 54 per cent of FTSE100 leaders are seen to be actively championing...

Citizens Advice has recommended that every household in the UK should get a one-off £285 rebate on fuel bills after energy networks claim £7.5 billion in "unjustified" profits over the past eight years. The independent charity says the network of firms had enjoyed a multi-billion pound windfall at the expense of consumers, blaming regulator Ofgem for "errors in judgement". According to their research National Grid made an operating profit of more than £4 billion in 2015/16,  although the company's annual accounts show that around a quarter...

The GMB Union responded to the 'disappointing' Taylor Review as the report was published today. While the union welcomed recommendations such as scrapping the long despised Swedish Derogation and the acceptance that the Gig Economy isn't working for workers, it challenged the Government to grasp the nettle and tackle the whole of the precarious economy. Matthew Taylor, who was commissioned last year by the Prime Minister to carry out this review, will today publish his 7 principles to achieve “good...

If your business depends on products being delivered to customers in perfect condition and on time every time, then the warehousing component of your supply chain management is one that you cannot afford to ignore. Even if you think your warehousing processes are up to scratch, innovations in process management and technology can make a remarkable difference in quality and efficiency. This means better output at lower cost, an equation that sounds attractive whichever way you look at it. Let's...

Robert Halfon, the former Apprenticeships and Skills Minister, was unceremoniously sacked by prime minister Theresa May just after the June General Election. Halfon had one or two things to say about the prime minister which we won’t repeat here, but which we highly recommend you go and read. While the low profile of the position means most people don’t know who the Apprenticeships and Skills Minister is, Halfon’s sacking may be significant. He was a huge supporter of further education...

You want to create an office space that ticks many boxes – stylish, appropriate for the work you do - but, above all, you want it to be a productive place. There are many factors that affect how productive your staff team is on any given day but there is no doubt that the environment in which they work is a major contributing factor. Office design is more than ‘where to put the desks?’. It is about ensuring there is...