Company is using legal loophole UK government promised to close two years ago, Guardian analysis suggestsP&O Ferries, which controversially sacked about 800 workers in 2022, has paid some crew members less than half the UK minimum wage thanks to an ongoing legal loophole the British government promised to close two years ago.Agency workers at the company, which is owned by the Dubai-based DP World, have in some cases been earning about £4.87 an hour – even lower than the £5.15 an hour the company suggested was its lowest pay rate – an analysis of recent payslips conducted by the Guardian and I[...]
Shadow chancellor to outline plans to shake up department after Labour election victoryThe Treasury under a Labour government would “hardwire” raising Britain’s growth rate into its budget tax and spending decisions as part of plans to shake up Whitehall’s most powerful department, Rachel Reeves is to announce.The shadow chancellor will use a lecture in London on Tuesday to say that a decade of national renewal must start with “day one” reform after a Labour election victory to make growth more pivotal to the Treasury’s work. Continue reading...
Unite calls for strike action after firm had previously said closure of blast furnaces would happen by end of yearTata Steel has abruptly announced it will cease operations of coke ovens at its Port Talbot plant in south Wales, a move condemned by one union as a “massive blow”.The steelmaker, owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, said it had made the decision after a “deterioration of operational stability”. The move is likely to impact about 200 workers, but the immediate impact remains uncertain. Continue reading...
‘High-capacity electrical spine’ to run onshore from north-east Scotland to north-west EnglandA £58bn plan to rewire Great Britain’s electricity grid to connect up new windfarms off the coast of Scotland is expected to trigger tensions with communities along the route.National Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) has mapped out power “motorways” across Great Britain to allow for the biggest investment since the 1960s. Continue reading...
Consumer body calls for a crackdown on ‘bewildering’ range of extra charges at big ticketing sitesLive music fans are losing out because of an array of “sneaky” fees that can add up to 25% to the cost of concert and festival tickets, research from the consumer body Which? has found.With booking open for big summer gigs, the lobby group has called for a crackdown on the “bewildering” range of extra charges that some of the UK’s biggest ticketing websites impose. Continue reading...
Joint letter from regulators targets finance and utility sectors for volume and tone of correspondence to vulnerable customersRecord 6.7m people in UK are in financial difficulty, warns charityUK regulators are warning they will take “robust action” against firms that are putting consumers’ mental health at risk by using threatening tones and inundating already-vulnerable borrowers with letters, calls and emails, about their debts.Watchdogs have published a joint letter, calling on companies to improve their debt collection practices, after identifying shortcomings across the financial service[...]
China’s Longi looks to slash costs as renewable energy sector faces tough headwinds from inflationThe world’s largest solar manufacturer has slashed nearly a third of its workforce after a cost-cutting drive that included telling staff to only print in black and white fell short and as a chill ripples through the renewable energy sector.China’s Longi is to cut as much as 30% of its workforce, in an acceleration of cost reductions that began late last year, Bloomberg reported. Continue reading...
Co-founder of Autonomy charged with 16 counts of wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy in 2011 sale of company to HPA British technology tycoon once lauded as “Britain’s Bill Gates” was the “driving force” behind a “massive” years-long fraud, prosecutors alleged, as his criminal trial got under way in San Francisco on Monday.Prosecutors said Mike Lynch, co-founder of the UK software company Autonomy, ruled the firm “with an iron fist” before its blockbuster takeover by Hewlett-Packard in 2011. Continue reading...
Carrier says technology could be a reality by end of the next decade, as it launches a base in BirminghamEasyJet has joined aerospace manufacturers in urging the government to help fund hydrogen-powered flight, as the carrier launched an operation out of Birmingham airport – its first new UK base since 2012.The airline, along with companies including Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN, said hydrogen planes could be a reality by the end of the next decade, setting out a detailed roadmap to change the sector. Continue reading...
Installations must speed up 11-fold as advisers say latest changes to scheme likely to make 2028 target even harderThe public spending watchdog has criticised the slow pace of the government’s heat pump rollout just days after ministers postponed an important scheme designed to increase the rate of installations.A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that heat pump installations would need to accelerate 11-fold if the government is to reach its target for 600,000 heat pumps installed in homes every year by 2028. Continue reading...
Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2024
Companies act after reports that submarine cables were cut by an anchor from a sunken ship
UK telecoms group pledges to return €4bn to shareholders after ‘final step’ in reshaping of European operations
Lawsuit in Crown Castle/Elliott case highlights how other parties are taking an interest in fine print of settlements
Investigation follows arrest of co-founder Armando Pereira in Portugal last year
Nasdaq-listed Viavi has turned to Silver Lake for investment to back its £1bn deal to buy Spirent
Deal would remove another UK-listed business from London market
The Italian CEO is determined to hive off significant parts of the telecoms giant while also changing its internal culture
Telecoms group faces multiple challenges
Mobile multinational says removal of currency peg from its Nigerian unit has increased cost of doing business
Co-founder of telecoms group Crown Castle criticises agreement to offer board seat to powerful hedge fund
© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2024. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. See http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms#legal1 for the terms and conditions of reuse.
Chief executive Jensen Huang claims Blackwell GPUs are substantially faster than its market-leading AI hardware
One-year-old healthcare start-up gains investment from venture groups including General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz
UK tech entrepreneur finally faces a US jury after years of legal wrangling
Top experts warn existential threat from AI requires collaboration akin to cold war efforts to avoid nuclear war
Job agency chief warns that while the latest tech tools are producing more candidates, public mistrust is hindering progress
Autonomy founder faces charges of falsifying accounts before HP bought his software company in 2011
Companies and their backers are starting to show more signs of acceptance of valuation cuts in ‘down round’ financing
US Congress took a first step this week to forcing the app’s Chinese owner to sell it off. Can the company fight back?
Slack may have lost its lustre but messaging in the workplace isn’t going anywhere
Investors claimed chief executive misled them during an earnings call in 2018
© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2024. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. See http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms#legal1 for the terms and conditions of reuse.