Shake up of employment laws needed

It has recently been claimed that some employers in the UK are abusing employment legislation by ignoring regulations in order to get rid of employees without going through the property procedures. Read more

Tags: MPs, credit crunch, fine, employments laws, employment legislation, Germany, redundancy, jobs

Job loss misery for UK

According to recently released figures the UK has been hardest hit compared to other countries in Europe when it comes to the number of job losses during the first three months of the year. Read more

Tags: job losses, discount, Macroeconomics, industry, quarterly, jobs, Dublin

UK consumers saving less

Concerns about the future of the economy has led to UK consumers putting less money into their savings,

Findings from Sainsbury’s Bank show that those in work are saving 6.6 per cent of their income while those who do not have jobs are only putting away 4.8 per cent.

An estimated 16 per cent are saving less than a year ago compared with six per cent who are saving more, according to the figures.

Neil Cameron, savings manager with Sainsbury’s Finance, said: “Many people are clearly finding it difficult to save, with a worrying number unable to set aside anything at all.”

“It is concerning that many people have decreased the amount that they are putting aside in savings since last year,” he added.

On a regional basis, people in Yorkshire and Humberside are saving the least, putting aside on average 4.7 per cent of their monthly income into savings, while people in the East Midlands and Anglia are saving the most at 6.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, more research from the firm shows that spending on cars is set to decrease by £11.1 billion over the course of the next six months.

Tags: yorkshire, income, United Kingdom, jobs, savings manager with Finance, regional basis, east midlands

Job cuts at the FOS

In a recent report the Financial Ombudsman Service has announced that around a quarter of its workforce will be losing their jobs, as resources are streamlined to fit in with workloads.

Although the Financial Ombudsman Service has been receiving many complaints about bank charges it had been dealing with a high level of complaints relating to mis-sold endowment policies. The number of complaints relating to this issue reach its peak in 2005 but then began to taper off.

It is thought that the workload of the Financial Ombudsman Service will fall significantly in 2005, particularly if banks continue to reduce their overdraft charges, as many have stated they will be doing. Nearly a million complaints relating to endowment policies have been dealt with by the service of the past few years, with around seventy thousand complaints coming in for 2005. However, although more complaints were expected the issue seems to be cooling down.

One FOS spokesperson stated that staff number were being cut in order to align them with demand and workloads, and that it was hoped many of the job cuts would result from voluntary redundancy. The Financial Ombudsman Service is the main point of contact for complaints relating to financial institutions and services. The aim of the Financial Ombudsman Service is to try and resolve disputes between consumers and financial service providers, and award compensation in cases where this is deemed appropriate.

Bosses at the Financial Ombudsman Service will soon be starting consultations with the staff council in order to finalize the details of the job cuts.

Complaints relating to mis-sold endowments have dropped to under thirty thousand for this year, with one official from the FOS stating: “We are not processing the hundreds of thousands of endowment mortgage disputes since 2005.”

Tom Smith
24th October 2007

Tags: financial, endowments, redundancy, ombudsman, jobs, vuts, mortgage

Benefits for many in ‘innovative’ self-cert mortgage

Those without a fixed income or who are self employed will benefit from the self-certification mortgage option.

According to Alexander Hall independent mortgage advisors, it is a pioneering product in the industry and meets the changing needs of these types of customers.

It allows property buyers to declare income without the need to provide proof and is ideal for those who do not have a way of verifying how much they earn.

Chief operations manager for Alexander Hall, Andy Pratt, said: “Some people have multiple jobs, some people are working on commission, bonuses, that type of thing.

“Without true self-cert products, those people in those types of situations wouldn’t have been able to qualify for a standard product.”

He added that in 2006 the 95 per cent self-cert mortgage was introduced which acknowledge the need for “lower deposits” in these types of clients as much as in any others.

Furthermore, he said, there did not seem to be any tightening up of the self-cert market in wake of recent worldwide financial turmoil.

Tags: thing, Andy Pratt, proof, jobs, self certification mortgage, mortgage, financial turmoil, worldwide

Over one thousand jobs to go at Barclays

Over one thousand people employed by Barclays Bank will be losing their jobs in the next three years, as the bank prepares to move its Poole based processing and IT office.

Bank officials have announced that eleven hundred people will have to lose their jobs over a three year period, cutting the workforce at the office from nineteen hundred to just eight hundred. The bank plans to mover operations to a smaller building in the area.

One union official from Unite stated: ‘We are very concerned at today’s announcement which will mean a large reduction of jobs in Poole. Unite does however have robust agreements in place and the bank’s plans are spread over the next three years, so we will be working with the bank to ensure the maximum number of redeployments and voluntary redundancies. We do welcome the news that Barclays will have a new building in the area, albeit smaller, so ending speculation that they may pull out of the area altogether.’

A council official also commented, stating: ‘We are saddened to hear of the job losses at Barclays and will be working closely with them and local agencies to offer as much support as possible to those staff affected. Although the job losses will impact the town in some areas, we will be doing everything in our power to counter the effects. We are continuing to work with Barclays to find suitable sites in Poole that will meet their business requirements and are pleased that they are committed to staying in the local area.’

The Chief Executive of the local council added: ‘The job losses are very regrettable. We will be working with Barclays to set up a strong and helpful network amongst local business and employment organisations to support those affected through information, advice, job searches and retraining opportunities.’

Tom Smith
23rd May 2007

Tags: union, barclays, cuts, employment, losses, jobs, IT, business