Research published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations reveals that the UK’s gender pay gap has been underestimated for over 20 years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) failed to account for data from many small, newer, private-sector businesses when compiling the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, skewing results in favour of large businesses, where pay was higher and the difference in pay between men and women was generally smaller. This oversight led to a consistent underestimation of the gender pay gap by 1%, a rate the report describes as “small but noteworthy.” Prof John Forth from Bayes Business School said: “It is crucial that the data is a true representation of wages and earnings in modern Britain.”

Entry-level job listings in the UK have fallen to a five-year low, according to recruitment firm Adzuna’s latest job report. Listings for graduate roles, apprenticeships and other junior positions fell by 6.8% to 209,778 in July and these roles now represent just 21.9% of all vacancies, marking the lowest proportion in half a decade. While graduate positions increased slightly month-on-month in July, they are down by more than a quarter year-on-year. The decline comes after increases to employer National Insurance and the minimum wage drove up workforce costs, with it also noted that companies are increasingly utilising AI for tasks typically handled by junior staff.

Businesses in England are set to be hit with a £2.5bn rise in property tax payments next year as both inflation and policy changes drive up costs, according to analysis by tax firm Ryan. Business rates, which are based on the value of commercial properties, will increase in line with September’s consumer price index, with inflation expected to reach 4%, adding around £1.11bn to bills. In addition, from April 2026 a new supplementary multiplier of up to 10p will apply to properties with a rateable value above £500,000, shifting about £1.38bn of government-funded discounts onto larger occupiers. It is estimated that this will affect 17,000 properties nationwide. Alex Probyn of Ryan said: “The 2026 revaluation itself is a redistribution exercise, but when you layer on both inflation and the new supplementary multiplier, businesses are left staring down the barrel of an unavoidable double hit.” He argues that larger occupiers “will shoulder a disproportionate burden.” He notes that the UK already has the highest property taxes in the developed world, before warning that the £2.5bn increase “risks undermining the UK’s competitiveness at a critical time for the economy.”

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, says the industry is set to see job losses and closures as costs climb, with the hike in employer National Insurance among issues that have added to pressure on the sector. Ms Nicholls said the trade body wants to see “urgent action” in the upcoming Budget – including cuts to business rates and VAT – in an effort to “stop hospitality businesses being taxed out and to reverse the damage done by increased taxes.” Data shows that 89,000 jobs have been cut in restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels since the Budget last October, with this representing 53% of overall job losses in the period.

Banks have been accused of breaching rules covering mandatory repayments to fraud victims, with complaints lodged over redress for victims of an alleged £200m Ponzi scheme. Investors who fear they have lost money to 79th Group, a failed investment scheme that administrators from Grant Thornton believe is a Ponzi scheme, argue that lenders are breaching legislation designed to protect victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud. The regulation says firms must repay the “vast majority” of scam victims within five business days, with this extended to 35 business days for complicated cases. The Payment Systems Regulator said it is “engaging with” Pay UK, an industry body which enforces the rules, while UK Finance said the industry has “aligned to ringfence this case from usual processing due to its highly complex nature.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is to meet with JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald to discuss the impact of new US tariffs on British businesses. Mr Macdonald has urged ministers to get a “deal done quickly” with the US, saying the tariffs are “very damaging to British industry.” This comes after 400 categories of goods which contain steel and aluminium became subject to US tariffs. Mr Macdonald said this had “blindsided everybody,” adding: “It’s blindsided us, it’s blindsided the UK Government, it’s definitely blindsided US customs.”

Grant Thornton UK has outsourced nearly all of its secretarial roles to India amid cost-cutting measures following the decision to sell a majority stake to private equity group Cinven.

Prices in British shops are rising at the fastest pace for more than a year and are 0.9% up on a year ago, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The increase comes as retailers pass on additional costs to consumers, with the Government having hiked both employer National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage. The industry estimates that measures set out in last October’s Budget have cost it £7bn. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Retailers continue doing everything they can to limit price rises for households, but the £7bn in new costs flowing through from last year’s Budget has created an uphill battle.” The Retail Jobs Alliance has warned that up to 300,000 jobs could be lost across the sector by 2028, including 40,000 held by workers aged between 16 and 24.

Jeremy Clarkson’s popular Amazon Prime farming show – and the appearances of his trusted land agent and agronomist, ‘Cheerful Charlie’ – have been partly credited with inspiring a surge in applications for land management courses at leading agricultural colleges across the UK. Applications for the Royal Agricultural University’s three-year rural land management BSc course have risen 11% compared to last year, while interest in their two-year rural land management foundation degree rose by 14%.