Press & Media Coverage

New figures have been published by the Office for National Statistics

Kate Underwood, founder at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said: This is an important question to ask given the size of your tax-free redundancy payment.

An HR expert said it was because businesses 'compromised'

Experts say it is now easy to make a claim

HR will become a front-line element of a company’s commercial strategy, due to the Government’s shake up of the £90bn

Advisers have rallied against “unqualified and unregulated” social media advice and called for greater regulation after research showed more than half of adults lost money by acting on financial advice from social media.

Experts have expressed concern behind the headline figures

An employment expert has explained things

The number of people claiming PIP in England and Wales has hit four million, a 2% increase since January 2026

Any report of sexual harassment is automatically counted as a protected disclosure in relation to a potential whistleblowing claim.

The changes have been explained by an employment expert

Law changes mean the consequences for crossing the line could be more serious than many realise

England and Scotland fans are preparing to change working patterns to stay up into the small hours to follow the tournament as games kick off as late as 2am UK time.

Small firms have hit back at new proposals that will force them to file accounts with Companies House, claiming it adds to the already heavy burden of doing business in Britain.

Small and micro businesses will be required to file profit and loss (along with other accountancy changes). Here’s what we know so far

The one problem with the biggest employment law shake-up in 30 years: “The system is broken”

Britain is quietly turning evenings into income as prices climb, but the paperwork can catch up faster than the cash ever does.

Experts warned household finances have become stretched

Experts cautioned household finances have become strained

She highlighted the things she sees more often than not

An HR expert has shared the workplace behaviours that could lead to you being sacked – and it’s not just about making minor mistakes or breaking office rules

Some people really think rules are optional

Millions of UK workers are getting a pay rise from April 1. Check the new minimum wage rates and make sure your employer is paying you correctly.

The UK government has unveiled the most sweeping late payment reforms in over a generation — giving freelancers and sole traders new legal muscle to chase, charge interest on, and report unpaid invoices. Here’s everything you need to act on today.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are at risk of redundancy this year, as businesses struggle to battle rising costs and the impact of the Iran war.

UK individual insolvencies have surged 18% year-on-year, with experts warning households are at breaking point as high interest rates, inflation and debt pressures intensify.

Financial experts urge Rachel Reeves to rethink plans to cap National Insurance relief on pensions at £2,000, warning it could damage retirement savings and employer schemes.

Another ‘fairness’ wheeze that’ll sting later

Health element of universal credit set to halve while greater employment support will be provided to sickness claimants

HMRC is urging young people born between 2002 and 2011 to claim their Child Trust Fund, worth £2242 on average. More than 758000 accounts remain…

HMRC is urging young people born between 2002 and 2011 to claim their Child Trust Fund, worth £2242 on average. More than 758000 accounts remain…

HMRC is urging young people born between 2002 and 2011 to claim their Child Trust Fund, worth £2242 on average. More than 758000 accounts remain…

HMRC is urging young people born between 2002 and 2011 to claim their Child Trust Fund, worth £2242 on average. More than 758000 accounts remain…

HMRC is urging 758,000 people to claim

New figures released by HMRC this week show 758,000 people are yet to claim the money

HMRC is urging people to check as 758,000 have yet to claim

The imbalance between private and public sector wage rises is “not sustainable”, an expert has said.

Australia announced that more than 4.7 million social media accounts have been blocked since their ban

More UK small business owners are feeling isolated and exhausted as rising costs, taxes and solo working push founders to breaking point.

Millions of workers will gain day-one rights to parental leave in April this year, after the government laid new measures before Parliament on 12 January, according to the Department for Business and Trade.

Hospitality recruitment firm, Limber, based in Bristol, says average shift hours posted by pubs and restaurants in 2025 were down 30 per cent in 2025 relative t

“Policymakers will need to redouble efforts to address this problem,” a think tank has warned

Businesses across the UK are being warned that more so-called “zombie” companies could collapse in 2026, increasing unemployment and putting financially healthy firms at risk if they are left unpaid.

Hospitality shift hours are down 30% since 2022 as small pubs, cafés and owner-operators cut staff to survive rising costs.

UK pubs and restaurants have cut shift hours by 30% since 2022 as rising wages, taxes and weak demand hit hospitality in 2025.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed wages were rising to £12.71 an hour

The Labour Government has unveiled a new scheme offering complimentary occupational health training to 5,000 line managers at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across England.

Experts and business leaders have criticised a new UK workplace sickness scheme, warning it lacks scale and fails to address the root causes keeping millions out of work.

We take a look at Labour’s Employment Rights Bill and how the business community has reacted to the measures

A £283m government plan to train future builders, coders and engineers has been criticised by business leaders as too little, too late to fix the UK’s housing and productivity crisis.

HMRC has urged seasonal and temporary workers to check they are being paid at least the minimum wage this Christmas, warning that unpaid hours and deductions are common causes of underpayment.

Mortgage professionals say a price war is under way and could force better rates than Santander’s market-leading 3.51% in January. Read this and today’s consumer and personal finance news in the Money blog.

Experts warn laptops, consoles and business tech could rise by £300 after OpenAI secured 40% of global memory chip supply. UK consumers and SMEs face soaring hardware costs amid an AI-driven squeeze.

Christmas celebrations at work are a potential HR minefield

Business leaders are speaking out over the Budget measure which will see the flat-rate working from home tax relief cut

The move will raise taxes by up to £124 for those affected, HMRC estimates.

After UK chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled her second budget yesterday (26 November), we dig into the implications for HR practitioners.

The Chancellor unveiled changes to salary sacrifice rules which could impact pension savings for millions

Weeks of leaks meant few shocks in today’s Budget, but the announcement still brings significant changes for entrepreneurs.

Raising dividend taxes will hurt the UK’s small businesses and entrepreneurial economy, warn workers in the sec…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the the salary sacrifice cap in today’s Autumn Budget

Experts say Reeves’ £4.7bn salary sacrifice cap will make pension schemes far less attractive, push employers to cut benefits, stall hiring and shrink workers’ long-term retirement pots.

Minimum wage rates are to increase for millions, giving a welcome pay rise to 4.1 to £12.71 an hour for low paid workers, with £1,500 for 18 to…

Minimum wage rates are to increase for millions, giving a welcome pay rise to 4.1 to £12.71 an hour for low paid workers, with £1,500 for 18 to…

Minimum wage rates are to increase for millions, giving a welcome pay rise to 4.1 to £12.71 an hour for low paid workers, with £1,500 for 18 to…

Minimum wage rates are to increase for millions, giving a welcome pay rise to 4.1 to £12.71 an hour for low paid workers, with £1,500 for 18 to…

Financial specialists have argued Rachel Reeves is finalising a "lastminute.com" Budget days before its publication, raising concerns about the Government’s fiscal preparedness.

Today's jobs figures make troubling reading. Unemployment soared to 5 per cent in the three months to September, a high not seen since early 2021, and redundancies are on the rise. Wage growth is also the lowest seen since April 2022 at 4.6 per cent, a figure that was boosted by bumper public sector pay deals. Higher inflation is increasing businesses' bills and borrowing costs, while the keenness to adopt artificial intelligence has also contributed to job losses. But Kate Underwood, managing director of human resources company Kate Underwood HR and Training, says the real culprit is Chancellor Rachel Reeves' last Budget in 2024. In it, the Chancellor put up the minimum wage and hiked the amount employers contribute in national insurance on their staff's wages. Below, the jobs expert explains why this worrying unemployment spike can be traced back to Labour's last round of monetary policy changes - and what could be coming in the next Budget on 26 November. Impact: Rachel Reeves' last Budget in 2024 introduced policies which have led employers to cut jobs - what will happen this time? Unemployment is up yet again and we should all be troubled by the data. The latest Office for National Statistics figures put the rate at 5 per cent between July and September 2025 – the highest since 2021. It's rising quarter by quarter, higher than a year ago, and a sign that the jobs market is slowing fast. The figures are deeply worrying. Payrolled employees fell by 117,000 between September 2024 and September 2025, and dropped 32,000 between August and September this year. Vacancies inched up by 2,000 to 723,000 in August to October 2025. So the openings are there – but fewer people are actually in work. That's not stability, that's stagnation. This isn't a one-off wobble. It's the sound of the economy hitting the brakes. When jobs go but vacancies don't rise, it means businesses aren't confident. They're freezing recruitment, quietly cutting hours, and holding off on replacements. It's the kind of creep of a slowdown that doesn't make front pages – but you feel it when your hours get cut, when overtime dries up, or when your friend suddenly loses their job. It all traces back to Rachel Reeves' first Budget in 2024. The rises in minimum wage and employer National Insurance contributions announced then landed in April 2025, just as businesses were still reeling from inflation, sky-high energy bills and expensive borrowing. It shows just how out of touch Reeves and Labour are and how they do not understand how the economy works. Job insecurity is everywhere It does not take a genius to work out that raising the amount of National Insurance employers have to pay would lead to unemployment going up. And who knows what she is going to do at the Autumn Budget in just two weeks – we could be looking at the data in six months time being even worse. On paper, unemployment is 5 per cent. In real life, insecurity is everywhere. For small firms, it's been rough. They've hit pause on hiring. People aren't bad with money - they're running out of it Underemployment, people who can't get enough hours, is rising. So is the number of people juggling multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet. Gig workers and freelancers are living week to week, never sure what they'll earn. Technically they're 'in work'. But in reality, they're on a knife-edge. And for those who still have jobs, the squeeze hasn't gone away. Inflation might have cooled, but the prices never came down. Rent, food, energy, transport – it's all still sky-high. Real wages, what's left after inflation, have barely moved in two years. Public sector staff have seen pay packets eroded again, despite the government's headline pay rises. Private firms aren't much better, cutting overtime and quietly freezing recruitment. And yet every time unemployment ticks up, the same tone-deaf advice is rolled out to tighten your belts and save more money. People aren't bad with money – they're running out of it. If your income dips, talk to your lender early. Check for forgotten insurance or workplace cover. Cut what you don't need such as your extra streaming services, the gym you never use. But let's be honest, these are small fixes in a big mess. Because this isn't just about budgeting. It's about a broken system. Work used to mean security, now it means survival. At the top end, professional and tech jobs are thinning out as AI and automation reshape whole industries. At the bottom, sectors like care, hospitality and retail are desperate for staff, but pay so little and offer so few hours that people can't live on them. Telling people to 'upskill' or 'be prudent' doesn't cut it. We need fairer pay and stable contracts for workers. And enough finger-wagging. Britain doesn't need another lecture about budgeting. It needs an economy that works for the people doing the work.

Unemployment in the UK rose to 5% in the three months to the end of September, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released yesterday (11 November).

Business owners have slammed the BBC after its top brass had to step down for doctoring footage of the US President.

Barclays, Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and more banks experienced significant disruption due to the outage

Pizza Hut’s UK dine-in restaurants enter administration amid rising costs and shifting consumer habits, with experts blaming a ‘brutal market squeeze’.

It comes as figures published today show the number of payrolled employees fell by 169,000 between June 2024 and June 2025.

Jaguar Land Rover’s plan to axe up to 500 management jobs in the UK should remind employers about their duties surrounding voluntary redundancies, HR commentators have said.

Another banking glitch has resulted in millions of UK workers being unable to access their finances on pay day.

Labour claims to be the party of working people - but who among us fit into their narrow definition?

The rate of unemployment dropped to four per cent in the three month to August 2024, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

With HMRC considering more changes to off-payroll legislation, People Management asks legal and tax experts which issues this could solve and what will likely remain unaddressed

With data suggesting theft at work is on the rise, People Management asks the profession whether employees should be reprimanded amid the current economic downturn

Latest REC figures could be indicative of ‘new year, new me’ Christmas rush, but recruiters warn it isn’t necessarily good news for employers

Following the ONS labour market data published this morning expert recruiters and HRs have commented: Louise Skittrall, founder of Swindon-based Robinson Grac

Boris Johnson has revealed his intention to scrap the duty to self-isolate if a person tests positive in England as he fights for his political life.

The Duke of Sussex told US business magazine Fast Company that ‘with self-awareness comes the need for change’ and that the many job resignations during the pandemic ‘aren’t all bad’.

Your self-esteem can take a hit, and so can the business.

Nearly 900,000 alerts telling people to quarantine were issued in the first week of this month after contact with a coronavirus victim in the so-called ‘pingdemic’.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, UK sickness absence fell last year, sparking fears that employees are continuing to work while ill and working from home.

Women want workplace period leave policies as they don’t believe UK employment law supports those who experience severe menstrual symptoms.

Nurses, teachers and shopworkers who have lost their health and their jobs talk about their struggle for support

BUSINESSES have welcomed signs of a recovery after the “massive” loss inflicted by the Covid criss last year.

BUSINESSES have welcomed signs of a recovery after the “massive” loss inflicted by the Covid criss last year.

What can employers do to aid people most vulnerable to unemployment scarring?