Monthly Archives: July 2015

Will employers’ gender pay gap figures tell us anything new?

The government is consulting on the detail of its proposal to force companies with over 250 employees to publish their gender pay gaps. We don’t yet know what information employers will have to give. Whatever happens, it will probably yield some interesting data  for … Continue reading

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The financialisation of slavery

Starting on Wednesday this week, the BBC is running a series Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners. It is based on research by University College London which found that Britain had 46,000 slave owners in 1833, the year slavery was abolished in the British Empire. … Continue reading

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Osborne wobbles but 2020 is still a big ask

I have long thought that George Osborne would eventually have to scale back his planned public spending cuts. Sooner or later, the circles in the 2015 dilemma would wobble. Taxes would increase, cuts to services and welfare would be scaled back and the … Continue reading

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Feeding the property addiction

A couple of scathing pieces on George Osborne’s plan to cut inheritance tax. Janan Ganesh in the FT (my emphasis): A Briton sets up a business, risking her savings and employing people on the way. If she makes a profit, … Continue reading

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Grab a graduate

London is full of European graduates doing admin jobs, so an HR director told me a few weeks ago. It’s a theme I’ve heard a lot over the past couple of years. Bright young Europeans are coming to the UK and … Continue reading

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Productivity stuck on auto-creep

Tim Scott’s piece on productivity earlier this week led me to this ACAS report on the subject. As you might expect, they focus on what has been happening in the workplace: A range of macro solutions have been offered by Government … Continue reading

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There’s a bit about Fastow’s hero-to-zero story I still don’t get

I was at the FT’s Camp Alphaville yesterday. It was an excellent event but it was on Britain’s hottest July day on record and the whole thing was in tents. As I don’t much like the heat, I stayed in … Continue reading

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