The Prosperity Institute think-tank has warned that Labour’s support for rejoining a customs union could cost the UK economy £30bn-40bn annually. Chancellor Rachel Reeves claims closer ties with the EU represent a significant opportunity, but critics argue this move would reduce GDP by 0.5% in the first year and 1.35% by year five. Fred de Fossard, an economist at the institute, said: “British businesses have thrived since leaving the EU. While some people say lower trade barriers with Europe make rejoining worthwhile, the data doesn’t bear this out.” The report also warns that closer alignment with the bloc could increase trade barriers with faster-growing markets, damage Britain’s independent trade policy and expose the UK to higher regulatory costs.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) says efforts to close the gender pay gap will not be successful until 2056 if progress continues at the current rate. Currently, the gap stands at 12.8%, costing the average woman £2,548 annually. Women effectively work 47 days a year without pay compared to men. The TUC attributes this gap to part-time work due to caring responsibilities. Paul Nowak, TUC General Secretary, said the Employment Rights Act represents a crucial step towards achieving pay parity, as it will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, which disproportionately affect women. The TUC has urged the Government to enhance flexible working and childcare access to address this issue. Research released by the British Journal of Industrial Relations last year suggests that the gender pay gap may have been underestimated for more than 20 years, with it found that the Office for National Statistics had failed to properly account for the fact that it received more data from larger employers when it reported its annual survey of hours and earnings.

More than a third of employers plan to reduce hiring due to the Employment Rights Act, according to a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey. About 37% of bosses expect to hire fewer permanent staff, citing increased hiring costs. The Act imposes new requirements, including immediate statutory sick pay and shorter unfair dismissal periods. Ben Willmott, head of public policy at CIPD, warned: “There is a real risk that the measures will act as a further handbrake on job creation.” Unemployment could rise to 5.4% by 2026, with hiring intentions at their lowest since 2014. Analysis from KPMG suggests that while jobseekers in the UK are facing the toughest hiring conditions in years, the eurozone will benefit from “resilient labour markets and strong nominal wage growth.”

Calls for a windfall tax on banks have intensified after major lenders, including Lloyds, NatWest, and Barclays, refused to reveal how much they are making on cash held risk-free at the Bank of England under its money-printing scheme. The subsidy scheme, which helps elevate profits at high street banks, costs taxpayers around £20bn a year. Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, said: “It’s simply outrageous that Britain’s biggest banks are quietly lining their pockets.” Dominic Caddick of the New Economics Foundation think-tank said the Bank of England “has created a bonanza for commercial bank profits, paying out high rates of interest which are slowly and only partly passed on to their customers’ savings accounts.” Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has voiced his opposition to a windfall tax and Chancellor Rachel Reeves resisted calls for the tax in November’s Budget, with banks arguing that an additional levy would lead to less lending, hampering growth.

Campaigners have warned that the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas operators has made the UK’s fiscal regime one of the least competitive globally. Calling for a new tax system planned for 2030 to be brought forward, campaigners have urged ministers to “end policies that are accelerating job losses, weakening energy security and increasing emissions.” In a letter to MPs organised by the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, signatories including industry leaders and union bosses outline a need for “immediate steps to restore competitiveness and confidence” in the UK North Sea.

HMRC has issued a warning regarding pension withdrawals, advising individuals to think carefully before accessing their private pension pots. The tax office noted that certain schemes may lead to unexpected tax bills as they can be classified as tax avoidance. Individuals are urged to be cautious of misleading schemes and to report any suspicions of tax avoidance to HMRC immediately. HMRC said: “Think twice before accessing your private pension pot. It may count as tax avoidance and could end up costing you more than you expect.”

France’s largest companies face a €7.5bn hit to their profits after what was expected to be a one-off surcharge that increases the corporate tax rate was renewed for a further year.

The £9.9bn acquisition of Schroders by US investment manager Nuveen has raised concerns about a trend of UK firms being sold to foreign buyers. Lee Humble from Azets has highlighted a significant increase in cross-border deal activity, with 30% of transactions involving foreign buyers last year, with these predominantly from the US. He commented: “This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg for US acquisitions of UK businesses.”

Britain’s largest companies are increasingly resorting to debt to fund dividends for private equity owners. Over the past five years, firms removed from the London Stock Exchange have paid out $2.7bn in debt-fuelled dividends. Cyril Demaria-Bengochéa, head of private markets strategy at Julius Baer, said debt-for-dividend deals have become prevalent because “investors in funds like to receive cash back,” adding that such transactions are likely to remain popular amid market turmoil. Patrick Schoennagel, co-head of Houlihan Lokey’s capital solutions group, said companies could support debt-funded dividends if they were a “relatively stable business that has relatively predictable cashflows.”

The Government has been urged to overhaul the business rates system for pubs, with business facing increased pressure as some valuations have increased fourfold. Industry bodies predict an average 15% rise in bills despite recent discounts and Price Bailey has warned that one in eight pubs could face winding up petitions. Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride has called for urgent reforms to support struggling pubs, while Conservative MP Andrew Snowden warned that many pubs could close without immediate action. While Junior Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson has “acknowledged concerns” about the valuation process and promised a “review of the methodology,” no changes are set to occur before the next three-yearly revaluation in 2029.

A third (33%) of Britain’s scale-up founders anticipate job cuts due to AI adoption within the next year, according to a survey by Helm. While 64% do not foresee redundancies, 58% are already delaying or reducing new hires. The analysis shows that 93% of founders believe the workforce is unprepared for widespread adoption of AI. Andrea Adamides, CEO of Helm, said: “AI is forcing business leaders to make some difficult decisions about jobs and hiring.” Meanwhile, analysis by RationalFX shows that over 30,000 tech employees have been laid off since the start of 2026, with major companies like Amazon and Meta announcing significant job reductions.

Nikola Mrkšić, co-founder and CEO of PolyAI, argues that remaining private is advantageous for fast-growing tech firms. He suggested that there are advantages to staying away from the stock market, arguing that the extra scrutiny and requirement for regular reporting can slow businesses down.

The Times highlights a growing trend of workers leaving white-collar jobs for trades, with the shift driven by the rise of AI. Data shows that early careers job advertisements have fallen by almost a third since ChatGPT was launched in 2022, while around 40% of recent graduates are already “underemployed” in jobs that do not require a degree. Institute of Student Employers analysis shows that there are about 140 applications per graduate role. Chris Claydon, CEO of JTL Training, says he has observed a rise in people looking to retrain in a trade, adding: “Increasingly people are realising the value of a degree isn’t equivalent to the cost of one.”