Business News Round Up (18/05/2020)
Furloughing has saved 30 per cent of Scottish workforces who would otherwise have been made redundant
New research has revealed Scottish employers would have made 30% of their workforce redundant if the Job Retention Scheme was not in place. The latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook, conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and the Adecco Group, also shows that 40% of all Scottish employers are planning to halt recruitment and 32% are planning to stop or delay wage increases. They survey of more than 2,000 employers across the UK shows that the net employment balance, which measures the difference between the proportion of employers who expect to increase staff levels and those who expect to decrease staff levels, has dropped 25 points from 21 to minus four UK-wide.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/furloughing-saved-30-per-cent-22034013
Fraud cases in NW soar in value from £52m to £500m in one year
The North West has been named the UK fraud hotspot outside of London, new research has revealed. Research by business advisory firm BDO shows the value of fraud in the North West region has increased from £52 million to £500 million, despite the number of reported cases in 2019 holding at the 2018 figure of 55. This analysis, based on reported fraud cases over £50,000 in the UK, reveals that the UK-wide picture shows a rise in value, but the number of reported cases has dropped by 12% – with 464 cases of fraud reported in 2019 compared with 525 in 2018. BDO have warned that the current coronavirus pandemic could lead in a sharp increase in fraud as scammers take advantage of vulnerable individuals and businesses.
Boom in employers pursuing self-directed home learning
Almost a quarter of the UK workforce is learning new skills to mitigate against coronavirus uncertainty, driving a surge in employees seeking out distance learning opportunities, according to new research by The Open University. 24% of the UK workforce are learning new skills, driven by concerns for job security and a shift in required skills. The results suggest that younger employees are particularly fearful that their skills could become obsolete. Over a third (39%) of 18-34 year-olds agreed that they would put their own money towards development opportunities if it made them more employable.
https://www.fenews.co.uk/home-learning/47571-boom-in-employees-pursuing-self-directed-home-learning
Intu seeks to delay loan repayments
Intu Properties is seeking standstill agreements from financial stakeholders as it struggles to survive after a collapse in rent payment from retailers. The company, which owns Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Lakeside in Essex, said it was likely to breach its debt commitments at the end of June as the stock market turmoil and downturn in the property market made it impossible to raise new funds. The ongoing impact of the pandemic on the company’s ability to collect rent from its tenants, and on valuations of its retail properties is likely to result in “breaches of covenants of material liquidity requirements”, by the end of June, it said today.
https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/intu-seeks-to-delay-loan-repayments/