Central London dry cleaning firms struggle as workers stay at home September 1, 2020 London’s dry cleaning firms could be the next casualty of the coronavirus crisis as workers continue to stay away from city centres, the industry has warned. A sustained drop in the number of office workers and tourists visiting central London could put many dry cleaning businesses at risk of closure. The government has launched a [...]
Coronavirus: Government begins to wind down furlough scheme September 1, 2020 Companies using the coronavirus furlough scheme will now have to contribute to workers’ wages as the government begins to wind down its emergency support. The job retention scheme, introduced in March, has paid 80 per cent of salaries for workers on temporary leave, capped at £2,500 per month. From today this will be reduced to [...]
How to ease back to the gym: What to avoid and how to set new habits August 29, 2020 August is usually a dead month for the City, with so many people travelling away for the month. But this year it’s a real ghost town. Thankfully, every week I write these articles, it gets a little busier. And now that office life is starting up again, it’s time to get back in the gym. [...]
Back to business: Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah on how corona has made people value local restaurants August 29, 2020 We talk to London’s top chefs about how they are dealing with the strange ‘new normal’. This week Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah talks about missing the buzz of service and taking solace in a spot of wine-tasting. Who are you and what do you do? I’m Brodie Meah and, along with Max Venning, I operate Stoke [...]
Where to eat in London: Old favourites reopening and new places to check out August 29, 2020 Coronavirus may have shuttered the food industry for months, but the business is bouncing back, with more of our favourite places to eat and drink reopening every day, and some new ones joining them too. In this regular column, we’ll bring you the latest news from the front-line of the food business, complete with the [...]
Business groups cautiously welcome government’s back to work campaign August 28, 2020 UK business groups have welcomed the government’s back to work campaign with some caution, calling for more guidance and government incentives. The government will launch a major media campaign next week to promote the advantages of returning to work and reassure employees about safety measures. It comes after a swathe of major City firms announced [...]
Employers must reassure staff that offices are not only safe, but the same buzzy environment they left six months ago August 28, 2020 Yesterday, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, the boss of the CBI, issued a rallying cry to the Prime Minister to do something about Britain’s “ghost towns”. The message was simple — give people confidence to return to the workplace, or the once thriving businesses in the commercial centres of our cities will be doomed. She is absolutely [...]
Exclusive: Majority of companies will allow staff to work from home August 28, 2020 The vast majority of UK companies will continue to give employees the choice to work from home, as the pandemic triggers a structural shift in working patterns, according to an exclusive survey for City A.M. The outbreak of coronavirus forced an overnight move to remote working, with the majority of firms closing their doors [...]
Coronavirus: Government to launch back-to-work campaign August 28, 2020 Brits will be encouraged to get back to the office as part of a new government campaign set to launch next week. The campaign will promote the advantages of returning to work and seek to reassure employees about the safety measures being taken to halt the spread of the virus. The productivity push, which will [...]
Sir Graham Brady calls on ministers to get workers back to the office August 27, 2020 An influential senior Tory MP has urged the government to give workers a “clear and consistent message” that it is safe to return to the office. Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservatives, said that if ministers did not do so there would be “devastating consequences” for the country’s towns [...]