More than 44,000 Asda workers have won the latest leg of their equal pay claim with bosses through a Supreme Court ruling, paving the way for a legal battle that could last years. The UK’s highest court backed a Court of Appeal judgment that store staff are entitled to compare themselves to distribution staff for
Business
Britain’s third-biggest steel producer has asked ministers to approve an emergency bailout of as much as £170m as it teeters on the brink of collapse. Sky News has learnt that GFG Alliance, the conglomerate headed by Sanjeev Gupta, wrote to the government late this week to request the emergency funding with thousands of jobs hanging
“One of the biggest questions in the climate change debate: Are humans any smarter than frogs in a pot? If you put a frog in a pot and slowly turn up the heat, it won’t jump out. Instead, it will enjoy the nice warm bath until it is cooked to death. We humans seem to
Rishi Sunak is calling on Britain’s employers to end working from home and allow staff back in the office – or risk them voting with their feet and quitting. Looking beyond the pandemic, the chancellor says working in an office is crucial for young people to get to know colleagues and seek out mentors to
Thousands of firms are to be refused business rates discounts claimed due to the pandemic in what has been described as a “catastrophic blow”. The Treasury said that it would legislate to throw out the claims – which it has been estimated could have cost it £5bn – and will instead set up a £1.5bn
Cineworld has reported worse than expected annual losses of just over $3bn (£2.2bn) and revealed a new funding round to help it navigate future coronavirus-related uncertainty. The company, which announced earlier this week screen reopening plans for its key US and UK markets, said it had cash in place to see it through this year
The John Lewis Partnership has revealed plans to close a further eight stores, leaving 1,465 jobs under threat. The company, which includes the Waitrose supermarket brand, had warned earlier this month while revealing annual losses of £517m that it did not expect to reopen all its John Lewis sites when COVID-19 restrictions are due to
The government has been accused of sending mixed messages on climate change after refusing to halt new exploration licences for North Sea oil and gas. Campaigners had urged the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy to follow the lead of Denmark and rule out new licences as part of a review launched last September.
Cineworld has revealed plans to reopen screens in its biggest markets, including the UK, but said nothing about how it will staff cinemas after effectively axing up to 45,000 workers six months ago. The world’s second-largest cinema operator temporarily laid off staff – almost 6,000 of them in the UK – last October as movie
McDonald’s have vowed to crackdown on “speed of service” competitions after workers told Sky News the contests were making it impossible to follow the chain’s COVID safety rules. Pre-pandemic restaurants regularly competed with each other and could see live data and leader boards on screens in their kitchens. However, McDonald’s UK had said the competitions
Travel shares have dropped sharply on growing fears of another lost summer for foreign holidays. British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) was the biggest faller on London’s FTSE 100, losing 5%, with aircraft engine maker Rollls-Royce not far behind, shedding 4%. Shares in easyJet fell 5% while Dublin-based rival Ryanair was nearly 3% lower,
Deliveroo’s founder is poised to sell millions of pounds-worth of shares in the food delivery app as part of a blockbuster stock market debut that will see him become one of Britain’s wealthiest technology entrepreneurs. Sky News has learnt that Will Shu, who launched the company less than a decade ago, is likely to sell
A software company that helps financial institutions monitor employees’ electronic communications will this week unveil a $25m (£18m) investment from one of London’s most prominent asset managers. Sky News understands that VoxSmart, which was founded in 2010, will announce on Monday that Toscafund has become its largest shareholder with a capital injection aimed at accelerating
Elon Musk has said his company would be shut down if its cars were used for the purposes of spying. The Tesla chief executive was responding to news that China’s military has banned Tesla cars from its facilities. Speaking to a Chinese forum in a virtual discussion, Mr Musk said: “There’s a very strong incentive
The maker of Fortnite and Houseparty, two of the pandemic’s biggest technology smash hits, is closing in on another large injection of funding that will value it at about $28bn (£20.2bn). Sky News can exclusively reveal that Epic Games, which was founded by Tim Sweeney 30 years ago, is finalising the terms of a $1bn
UK pubs face a “bleak future” as they mark a year since being forced to close due to the first coronavirus lockdown. Dave Mountford, a publican and campaigner at the Forum for British Pubs, told Sky News that at least 2,000 pubs have already closed permanently. He said the remainder will need significant financial help.