House price growth slows as housing market cools Reports suggest that last month, average house prices were 8.7% up on a year ago. These prices are, however, expected to settle with stamp duty set to revert to normal. From October, rates are due to return to normal, which means the point [...]

'We lost our life savings in a cryptocurrency scam' With the popularity of cryptocurrency on the rise, many people are encountering fraudsters. The older generation are falling into the trap of handing over large quantities of money to withdraw their money from cryptocurrency accounts.Martin Lewis,said: "The UK is facing an epidemic of scam [...]

Changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme From 1 August the amount employers will need to contribute to the cost of the scheme is changing. You will now be able to claim 60% of wages up to a cap of £1875 for hours not worked. Employees still to receive 80%, therefore, [...]

UK property sales at new record as boom peaks Official figures show that property sales in the UK hit a new record level in June, but analysts say it may mark the peak of the housing boom. The boom was due to the rush to complete sales before the stamp duty [...]

Four-day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland Trials of a four-day week in Iceland were an "overwhelming success" and led to many workers moving to shorter hours, researchers have said. With many people’s productivity increasing, many moved from a 40-hour week to a 35-hour week. In May, a report commissioned by the [...]

HMRC to go easy on small business strangled with Covid debt Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, says HMRC will not press businesses to pay overdue tax immediately if they are struggling with coronavirus-related debt. With the UK at the final stages of lockdown, small businesses fear they cannot pay overdue debt [...]

UK Covid LIVE: PM to announce on Monday if lockdown can lift on July 5 as Hancock says data ‘looking encouraging’  With everyone hoping that Freedom Day is not far away, an announcement from Boris Johnson on Monday will determine if the final restrictions can be lifted earlier than the pushed [...]

UK jobs market showing signs of recovery With the increase in vaccinations and more businesses reopening, the job market is now showing signs of recovering - unemployment rates are falling and the number of job vacancies is rising. This however doesn't apply to the younger generation where unemployment in hospitality remains [...]

Small businesses selling into EU face £180m in extra red tape costs For the first time small businesses that sell into the Europe will be required to register for VAT. The new EU One-Stop-Shop rules, which will be introduced on July 1, are designed to stop an estimated €7bn in annual [...]

Some small business owners still haven’t received their Restart Grant A number of business owners haven’t yet received their restart grant despite being launched at the beginning of April. This grant was set to help non-essential businesses, who were forced to close, reopen after lockdown. What can I do if I haven’t [...]