SME employees abuse sick leave, managers fear
SME owners in Scotland are worried about the rising level of sickness-related absences recorded over the past 12 months, a new Close Brothers Business Barometer survey has revealed.
40% of schools in England actively use biometric technology, report says
Over 1.28 million students in secondary schools and academies have had their fingerprints taken by their school, figures obtained from the new Big Brother Watch report “Biometrics in Schools” have revealed.
UK business optimism soars by 74% over the past year
The level of business optimism across UK companies has soared by an impressive 74% over the course of 2013, the latest International Business Report (IBR) from Grant Thornton has revealed.
UK SME growth reaches six-year high
The number of active SMEs (small and medium enterprises) across the UK has reached 2.16m in 2013, the highest value in six years, a brand new market report has revealed.
Graduate recruitment set to soar over 2014, report forecasts
Britain’s largest employers will boost their graduate intake by 8.7% in 2014, the biggest annual rise in recruitment for four years, the “Graduate Market in 2014” study forecasts.
More than half of business organizations have no talent and skill management strategy in place
Close to 62% of all UK businesses have no talent management strategy in place, despite being quite worried about the prospect of losing valuable employees, a recent study by recruitment specialist REED has revealed.
UK construction industry continues to grow for 8’th consecutive month
The UK construction industry continued its positive trend throughout December, a market survey compiled by Markit has recently revealed.
British SMEs to get easier access to EU procurement contracts
The European Parliament has managed to officially adopt a revised set of procurement directives that are likely to make it a lot easier for UK firms to tender for public sector work across the common market, a new media report has revealed.
Minimum wage penalty to reach £20,000 under Government crackdown
Companies who fail to pay their employees the national minimum wage will face significantly increased penalties, as part of a Government crackdown, with the value of the maximum fines quadrupling compared to current values.
Tensor set to play key role in S-IMPLER solid wall insulation retrofit research project
As part of a major initiative to address lean energy efficient retrofit of 1950s solid wall homes, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is set to launch S-IMPLER, a new research and demonstration project that has been specifically designed to help the r
UK economy to grow by 2.4% in 2014, optimistic IMF report suggests
The International Monetary Fund is expected to raise its UK growth forecasts for 2014 from 1.9% to 2.4%, which would push up the country’s growth forecasts by more than for any other major economy.
Recruitment levels soaring in British professional job market
A global survey carried out by Antal International discovered that the United Kingdom’s job market has improved by 10 per cent year-on-year over the course of 2013, an impressive 5% over the global average.