Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled his Winter Economy Plan to help businesses and their employees as Covid-19 continues to have a devastating impact. The key points are: A Jobs Support Scheme for employees will replace the furlough scheme, which effectively paid people not to work. Under this new scheme, businesses will pay employees for...
Business West, the organisation behind the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, today called for a comprehensive support package for firms hit by the latest coronavirus measures. With the number of cases of Covid-19 rising again – promoting a new raft of restrictions on businesses – Business West urged the government to take action to protect...
Huge changes in the way people work have occurred since the coronavirus pandemic first hit – yet many businesses are struggling to cope with this ‘new normal’ and the legal implications remain unclear, a webinar on the workforce of the future staged by law firm Royds Withy King heard. The firm’s Swindon-based employment partner Malcolm...
The spike in online shopping this summer drove up profits at logistics group Wincanton, with its digital and eFulfilment divisions operating significantly ahead of their pre Covid-19 levels. As a result, the Chippenham-based group expects this year’s results to be “materially” ahead of market expectations. In a trading update to shareholders, the UK’s largest...
Firms in the South West are among the most pessimistic in the UK about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with many expecting to shed jobs when the government’s furlough scheme ends, according to a new survey. The Lloyds Bank Business Barometer, which takes the pulse of 1,200 firms across England every month, shows...
Major challenges for employers ranging from managing remote staff to changing the way entire organisations work post Covid-19 will be tackled head-on in a webinar to be staged next week by regional law firm Royds Withy King. Called Workforce of the Future: The New Norm, the event will give insights from practical futurist and...
Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, has welcomed the launch today of the government’s Kickstart scheme, which offers subsidised job placements to out-of-work young people. Under the £2bn programme, 16 to 24 year olds claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment, will be able to gain six-month work placements. The government...
Wincanton, Britain’s largest third-party logistics business, has won a three-year contract to with furniture retailer Dwell, including click-and-collect services in its stores and home deliveries. Under the agreement Chippenham-based Wincanton will also manage store replenishment from the Dwell’s Milton Keynes distribution centre. Formed in 2003 and owned by DFS since 2014, Dwell sells sofas, dining...
The new management team at an award-winning historic pub are promising to build on its strong reputation and take its food offering to the next level. Kevin Chandler takes over as head chef of The Methuen Arms in Corsham this week along with new general manager Hannah Liquorish. Kevin, pictured with Hannah, right and below, is...
The coronavirus pandemic has hit profits at more than 60% of firms in the West of England – with nearly one-in-seven fearing they will never return to pre-Covid levels of activity, according to the largest business survey in the region. Just under a quarter of firms have, or plan to, axe jobs with a...
