The government intends to raise employer National Insurance rates from 13.8% to 15% in April 2025. The threshold will also drop from £9,100 to £5,000 per year. Business leaders say these changes put extra strain on payroll budgets. A poll by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that out of 2,000 firms, a little over 1/3 planned to trim headcount in response. Others expect to hold back on expansion or cut hours, as paying higher taxes could eat into profits. Some small...

Business Many people wonder how often jobseekers stretch the truth when describing their background. A YouGov poll of 8,618 adults in Great Britain shows that 1 in 10 admitted to including untrue statements on their CV. The poll shows that 874 people lied in some way, with the most frequent deceptions involving education, qualifications, and time spent in past jobs. Some also made up personal interests or job titles. Falsifying age or even a name, though rare, still surfaced. Those who feel...

Startups This year’s Safer Internet Day took place yesterday, February 11th, and the theme this year is ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online’. This annual event, championed by the UK Safer Internet Centre, intends to educate young internet users on online safety issues they face. This year’s focus is on understanding and addressing online scams. Through discussions and shared experiences, participants will look at the growing impact of technologies like...

Tenth Revolution Group spoke with more than 1,500 people who work with Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, Microsoft, and similar platforms. Their findings suggest that employees want around 21% extra pay if they’re to remain with their current employer. About half of those surveyed plan on staying where they are over the next year. The rest are looking at fresh opportunities and believe a 25% boost would make a job switch worthwhile. Many in tech say better financial rewards could prevent them...