THE HOT STORY

Tackling unemployment linked to long-term illness 'will unlock economic growth'

Former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield has said that tackling unemployment linked to long-term illness will unlock economic growth that's "hiding in plain sight." More than 250 of the UK's biggest employers have signed up to his Get Britain Working taskforce, which aims to prevent people dropping out of work due to ill-health and encourage those signed off to return to the workplace. The participating companies will track sickness absence, return-to-work outcomes, and disability participation, which the government said would make workplace health performance visible for the first time. Mayfield said: "I can't tell you how many people I've met who said: 'I was signed off work for three months, or six months, and I never had any contact with my employer at all.' "That's not because the employer is a bad person. It's because we've got a situation at the minute where people don't talk to each other when they really need to." He said his plans could help cut the government's welfare bill. "Fixing these problems at the fundamental level, could make a really big contribution to getting this economy working better - for employers, for employees, for the taxpayer, for all of us."

BBC News

WORKPLACE

Boohoo boss defends five-day office working

Dan Finley, the chief executive of Boohoo Group, has defended the company's decision to require its 1,500 head office employees to work in the office five days a week, arguing that younger staff benefit from collaboration, mentoring and workplace relationships that are harder to develop remotely. Finley said an office presence was particularly important in the fashion sector, where employees need to engage with products and emerging trends. The comments come as the Manchester-based retailer continues efforts to reduce debt and revive sales amid competition from fast-growing rivals such as Shein and Temu. Other major employers including Boots and Morrisons have also adopted full-time office attendance policies for corporate staff.

The Sun

The Times

WORKFORCE

Baillie Gifford invites UK staff to 'exit' voluntarily

Baillie Gifford CEO Tim Campbell has announced a voluntary exit programme for UK staff as the Edinburgh-headquartered asset management firm restructures to focus on faster-growing market segments and client needs.

Financial Times

STRATEGY

Iran war is a boon for UK consultants

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is boosting demand for British consultants, who are assisting clients in securing energy supplies and diversifying supply chains. Tamzen Isacsson, chief executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), said business leaders were keen to restart projects in other areas. "There is a bit of crisis fatigue," she said. "Many [companies] are thinking, 'We just need to get on with our business.' Clients can't just stop and hope things will calm down because I think this is the new normal. There are all of the critical digital upgrades, for example, that companies just cannot keep putting off." The MCA reported a 3% increase in revenue to £21.8bn in 2024, with expectations of a further 6% rise this year. Despite seeing a recovery, the sector has not returned to pre-pandemic growth levels.

The Times

TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft commits 6,000 employees to new AI implementation unit

Microsoft is establishing a new subsidiary, Microsoft Frontier Co., to enhance its AI services, and is investing $2.5bn in the initiative. The move will see 6,000 employees embedded with clients to facilitate AI implementations, a strategy known as forward deployed engineering (FDE). Rodrigo Kede Lima, previously leader of Microsoft's Asia operations, will serve as president of the new division. Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft's commercial business, emphasized the need for tailored AI solutions. "Customers are in very different places right now, and trying to really figure out AI . . . Do they snap to one model from OpenAI or one model from Anthropic, or a family of models?" Althoff said. "Do they take it from a technology first mindset? How do they look at their existing business processes and operations?" Leading AI labs Anthropic and OpenAI both established FDE groups in May.

CNBC

RISK

Unchecked AI progress 'may pose catastrophic risks'

A preliminary report from the UN's Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, which has been described as the first global independent assessment of AI's risks and opportunities, has said developments in the technology are outpacing scientific understanding and government policy, and there are no guarantees that it will not cause ‌catastrophic harm. "AI capabilities are outpacing both scientific understanding and governments’ ability to adapt," said Yoshua Bengio, co-chair of the panel. "With growing evidence of deceptive AI behaviour, science currently cannot guarantee that as capabilities continue to ⁠increase, AI will not cause catastrophic harm, either on its own or due to malicious users." AI's task complexity is doubling every four to seven months, potentially allowing systems to complete work that takes humans days or ‌weeks, the report notes.

Euronews

Reuters

The Guardian

ECONOMY

Credit card defaults hit 17-year high

Credit card defaults have surged to their highest level since the financial crisis, according to Bank of England data. Analysts attribute the rise in credit card defaults to a combination of stubborn inflation, energy cost pressures, and low consumer confidence, which is being exacerbated by a cooling labour market.

The Daily Telegraph

Daily Mail

INTERNATIONAL

German workers banned from taking sick leave without a medical note

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed new rules requiring workers to obtain a sick note in person on their first day of illness. The change aims to enhance productivity in Germany's stagnant economy. "The number of sick days is too high," Merz said. "We are creating a set of tools that will enable those involved, both employees and companies, to correct this." The new rules would replace a system whereby employees can get a note by phoning a doctor and do not need to do so until their third day of work. Frank Werneke, the head of the services sector union Verdi, said Merz was creating "a culture of distrust of employees." Doctors also oppose the change. "Our practices would be flooded with patients who don't need in-person care and would be better off in bed," said the German Association of Family Physicians. Meanwhile, Merz announced a €10bn tax cut for middle-class families to stimulate the economy and support his coalition government. Families earning €60,000 annually will receive over €600 in tax relief. This will be funded by raising the top tax rate from 45% to 47%.

Alibaba bans employees from using Anthropic's Claude Code at work

⁠Alibaba is to ban its employees from ‌using Claude Code ‌- Anthropic's AI coding assistant for software developers - in ⁠workspace ⁠environments from July 10 due to alleged security risks involving ⁠embedded backdoors. Developers say Claude Code contains mechanisms that inspect user environments, including timezone and proxy-related information, and insert subtle markers into prompts sent to Anthropic's servers. Alibaba employees are reportedly being told to use ⁠the ⁠company's own coding platform ⁠Qoder.

U.S. News

Guatemala's new attorney general vows to dismantle predecessor's 'repressive' legacy

Gabriel García Luna, Guatemala's new attorney general, has committed to dismantling the "repressive and vengeful" administration of his predecessor, Consuelo Porras. Porras faced international sanctions for obstructing anti-corruption efforts and persecuting justice officials. “Everyone has a concept of a Public Prosecutor's Office that can be used in a certain way, and we can no longer have that,” García Luna said. “It is not a political entity, nor a political weapon for anyone, and I do not intend to repeat the actions taken in previous administrations.” He has launched a review of cases involving alleged abuses during Porras' tenure. His predecessor had “formed a parallel government that destroyed the prosecutorial profession, mainly by dismissing between 800 and 1,000 employees during her eight-year tenure,” García Luna said.

AP News

Incheon airport operator to halve employee parking permits

Incheon International Airport is to reduce employee parking permits by over 50%. The decision follows a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport audit that revealed the issuance of an excessive number of permits and their misuse for personal purposes. All current permits will be invalidated, requiring workers to reapply under stricter criteria. The new rules will limit permits to those deemed "essential for work." The move has been slammed by airport workers and employees of the airport's subsidiaries, many of whom will be required to park much further from their workplaces than before. “If this policy is implemented, commuting times for resident staff and subsidiary workers could increase by more than an hour per day,” a union official said.

The Korea Times

OTHER

Starbucks to pay baristas for creating approved TikTok content

Starbucks will begin paying participating baristas a share of advertising revenue for creating TikTok videos as part of a new programme launching later this summer, as the company aims to capitalise on the popularity of employee-generated social media content. Through TikTok's Custom Creator Network, the coffee chain will provide approved content ideas for paid advertisements, becoming the first brand to pilot the platform's new creator programme.

The Oregonian

The Seattle Times

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