21 February 2017
Concerns that Brexit will affect academic research opportunities in the future are causing rumours that some UK Universities may consider the offer from French Officials to open a Paris campus.
British universities are being invited to open an overseas campus in Paris after the UK leaves the European Union to enable them continued access to EU funding and participation in continent-wide research projects. Oxford University, which was named by the Daily Telegraph on Monday as being in talks over relocating some academics, students and research projects to the French capital, issued a statement later in the day denying the claim. A spokesman told...
Read More20 February 2017
Online retail giant Amazon has said it will create 5,000 new full-time jobs in the UK this year.
The firm said it was looking for a range of staff including software developers and warehouse staff.
There will be jobs at Amazon’s head office in London, as well as in the Edinburgh customer service centre and in three new warehouses. The recruitment will take Amazon’s workforce in the UK to more than 24,000.
Doug Gurr, the head of Amazon’s UK business, said: “We are creating thousands of new UK jobs including hundreds of apprenticeship opportunities as we continue to innovate for our customers and provide...
Read More17 February 2017
Despite predictions that companies would lose faith in London and rush to set up offices in Europe, the new ‘Cities of Influence’ report by Colliers International says that London will remain number one for talent, location and costs.
No single city in Europe has capacity to absorb 100,000 jobs at short notice “The outcome of the EU referendum made many nervous that we would see a mass exodus of businesses relocating from London. Indeed, some sceptics predicted 100,000 finance and business services jobs would be likely to flee to the continent, and only recently, HSBC and UBS confirmed that they would start...
Read More17 February 2017
Letting agents raided more than £1m from tenants’ deposit schemes last year, a BBC investigation can reveal.
Fourteen letting agents were prosecuted in the UK in 2016 for helping themselves to tenants’ cash. Despite the Tenancy Deposit Scheme being introduced to protect tenants’ money, deposits can still be held in a bank account controlled by the landlord or agent.
Property expert Ajay Jagota said this is the sector’s “dirty little secret”. More on the rogue landlords and other news
Since 2007, landlords and their agents have had a legal requirement to put every tenant’s deposit in a government-backed scheme, such as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. But...
Read More16 February 2017
The UK workforce is booming, with the highest employment rate since records began and the UK’s unemployment rate one of the lowest in Europe, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The number of people in work in the UK has hit a record high while the total unemployed is at its lowest for a decade, according to the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data also showed that the proportion of the workforce accounted for by non-UK nationals had increased over the past 20 years, from 3.8 per cent in 1997 to 10.9...
Read More15 February 2017
Leaked document warns EU states may retaliate for tough immigration rules PM has complained EU leaders are blocking early deal on citizens’ rights More than a million Brits live on continent and three million EU nationals are here
EU states could take revenge for Brexit by kicking out more than a million expats, a Brussels report has warned. A leaked document drawn up by the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee suggests countries may retaliate over tough immigration rules. The warning comes amid a major row over reciprocal rights for EU citizens in the UK and Britons living on the continent.
The PM has insisted that she...
Read More15 February 2017
Where to begin with an offering of the ten classic British traditions all expats should experience?
1. The pub
Let’s start in the pub - the best times often do. Expats who have just moved to the UK may be surprised at how popular the pub is to their British colleagues but it’s a good place to socialise and make new friends.
Most British people don’t need to be asked twice to go to the pub and there are a wide range available, from trendy drinking bars to ‘olde worlde’ pubs. It’s popular to go to the pub after work, particularly on a Friday...
Read More14 February 2017
Although long term assignments for key talent are less common than they once were – having been replaced by less expensive alternatives – most companies still use them when needed. But as cost containment has become the top priority for many, assignment packages have changed and are now far leaner than in the past.
In some instances the impact is minimal, but in others it’s not, and omitting certain benefits can be a false economy. This is especially true when it comes to repatriation. When assignees and family members aren’t provided with adequate benefits at the assignment’s conclusion, organizations can end...
Read More13 February 2017
The Wrike Digital Work Report asked for the opinions of 3,000 office workers in the UK, France and Germany to compare working habits. As well as monitoring differences in place, the work management and collaboration platform’s study looked at attitudes and experiences from respondents by age, ranging from 18- to 24-year-olds, to Millennials (25–34) through to those aged 55 and over.
Managing rising workloads
Key findings include work demands have increased in all three locations in the past year. The UK saw the largest variances between age groups in this respect. Over that period, 71 per cent of UK Millennials said individual...
Read More13 February 2017
The 45 MPs have written to the Home Secretary calling for closer ties with the Commonwealth
Dozens of Conservative MPs have signed up to a plan to give citizens of the 52 Commonwealth countries “fast-track” visas to the UK after Brexit.
A letter to the Home Secretary, published in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, says loosening visa control on Commonwealth nations would “extend the hand of friendship to our Commonwealth partners”.
If the MPs’ plan goes ahead citizens from countries including Pakistan, India, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Ghana could find it easier to come to Britain.
READ MORE New immigration controls may not be...
Read More10 February 2017
Reduction was a core wish of leave voters, but overall figure will probably fall by less than 15%, thinktank predicts.
Theresa May’s attempt to reclaim control of UK borders after Brexit could reduce annual migration from the EU by just 50,000 – one-sixth of the current overall annual figure, according to new research.
The projection of a “vanishingly small reduction” is one of the first attempts to estimate how likely labour market demand, and the government’s planned new controls, could reduce the number of migrants coming to the UK. Reduction in immigrant numbers has been repeatedly cited in polls as the chief...
Read More09 February 2017
The average daily rate (ADR) for London increased to £181.68, a 3.3% increase on 2015 and for the UK as a whole it was £141.40, a 1% increase on 2015.
ASAP and STR confirm that the serviced apartment sector in the UK has achieved full year occupancy of 81% in 2016. While 2016 was widely recognised as a more challenging year for the sector, particularly in the first quarter, it’s very encouraging to see the sector achieve an overall performance of 81%, which is only very slightly down on 2015 – the UK as a whole was 1.6% down and...
Read More08 February 2017
The government has vowed to build more affordable houses and help people buy and rent, after admitting the current market is “broken”. The new housing strategy for England includes giving councils powers to pressurise developers to start building on land they own.
Ministers also pledged to make renting more “family-friendly” with longer tenancies offered. Labour called the measures announced “feeble beyond belief”.
Rolling updates: Brexit, Speaker row and Housing Housing crisis: Why not use empty homes? Mark Easton: How radical are the plans? House price growth ‘to slow in 2017’ Will it get easier to build on the green belt?
The government says at least 250,000 new homes are...
Read More07 February 2017
At the recent Destination Britain India event in Pune, the United Kingdom High Commissioner of India announced a unique “Beat the Peak” program for Indian nationals applying for both short- and long-term business and tourist visas to the UK. To encourage Indian nationals to submit their visa applications during the slower January and February season when application volume is lowest, applicants will be able to post-date their visa validity start date by up to three months. Applicants will benefit from faster processing times during this time with the flexibility of setting travel dates three months out. High Commissioner Dominic Asquith...
Read More06 February 2017
Following the consultation last year, secretary of state for work and pensions Damian Green has unveiled the government’s plans aimed at enhancing opportunities for older workers in the UK labour market. Acknowledging the health, wellbeing and financial benefits of staying in the workforce longer, the Fulller Working Lives strategy advises employers and individuals to consider the six Rs to reaping the benefits of employment in later life. The three Rs revisited
The partnership approach outlined by the government makes the case for employers to focus on recruiting, retraining and retaining older workers. Alongside the removal of the default retirement age and the introduction of...
Read More03 February 2017
Moving abroad is the adventure of a lifetime. It’s scary, exhilarating, intimidating and awe-inspiring in equal measure. There are ups and downs in every moment of the planning, packing and moving.
The decision to move is usually one that suits the immediate family and can be made for a whole host of reasons – job opportunities being a common one – but ultimately it comes down to choosing a better lifestyle for yourself, your partner and your children. The trouble is, there are almost always other people who demand your consideration.
Split responsibility Living in a different country brings with it a strange...
Read More02 February 2017
Annual UK house price inflation fell to its weakest level since November 2015 in January, according to mortgage lender Nationwide. The 0.2% rise in house prices last month was down from a 0.8% rise in December, although that left prices 4.3% higher than at this time in 2016. “The outlook for the housing market remains clouded,” said Nationwide economist Robert Gardner. The average price of a house in the UK dropped slightly to £205,240.
Mr Gardner said that so far there had not been a negative impact on the economy following the vote to leave the EU. “The economy has remained far stronger than expected...
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