Category Archives: Money

Give UK workers right to know colleagues’ pay to prevent disparities, says watchdog

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EHRC says transparency needed to prevent pay discrimination, particularly against women

Workers should have a legal right to know their colleagues’ pay to help prevent pay discrimination, particularly against women, the UK’s human rights watchdog has said.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) made the recommendation in response to government proposals to overhaul equal pay laws, saying workers deserved a right to transparency if they suspected other staff were being paid more for similar work.

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iPhone Duo owners report cracks in Apple’s first foldable handset

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Company says small number of devices affected by display glitch after posts appear on Reddit and social media

Owners of the new foldable iPhone are reporting cracks in the device’s screen, as Apple confirmed an issue with a “small number” of units.

Reports of cracks have emerged on Reddit and social media platforms since the handset went on general sale globally on Friday. Experts said there had been too few examples to determine whether there was a more serious problem with Apple’s first foldable device, which retails from $1,999 (£1,499).

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UK van drivers face extra £2.5bn in diesel costs this year, figures show

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Calls for planned fuel duty rise to be scrapped as analysis finds average fuel bill could hit £1,965, up from £1,294

Millions of British van drivers face a combined £2.5bn cost to cover the rising price of diesel this year, according to figures, fuelling calls for the government to scrap its planned fuel duty rise.

The owners of diesel vans and pickups can expect to collectively spend almost £8.5bn at the pump this year, according to analysis for the Guardian, after diesel prices climbed to record highs due to a global fuel shortage caused by disruption to refineries in the Middle East and Russia.

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Drivers forced to use parking apps can pay up to 40% more

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Council car parks have switched away from ticket machines to cut costs, leading to extra fees for users

Drivers are unwittingly paying up to 40% more to park as more councils switch to app-only payments and force customers to pick up the tab.

Many councils across England have removed pay and display machines and replaced them with app payments, including a number in London. Most local authorities encourage drivers to pay by app to beat queues, while apps are often the only way to pay when ticket machines are out of order. However, many car park signs fail to mention that app payments may incur an additional service fee.

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‘You have a meeting’: the calendar phishing scam growing exponentially

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Appointment or renewal reminder appears in victims’ calendar to lure them into logging in to fake Google, Microsoft or PayPal page

You’re preparing for the week ahead and take a look at your Google calendar. There’s an entry for a meeting that you must have completely forgotten. The note that pops up when you click on it says you’ll be reviewing a project and includes a link to more details. Confused, you follow it to find out more; the website you land on asks for logon details, and you provide them.

Unfortunately, this was not a failure of your memory but a calendar phishing scam. You have handed your name and password to fraudsters who will sell it on in a batch with other people’s details, use it to break into your work email, or to persuade you that they are contacting you from your bank, or another institution.

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UK savings: 5% interest rate deals may not last, say experts

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Competition is hotting up, with National Savings & Investments lifting rates to the highest in years

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has increased the returns on some of its accounts, with many now paying more than 5% for the first time in nearly three years.

Competition in the savings market has been growing, leading to some of the highest interest rates for years.

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Tory tax break for banks has cost UK public purse £6bn, says TUC

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Exclusive: Chancellor urged to reverse Rishi Sunak’s tax surcharge cuts to claw back billions in lost revenue

Tax cuts for big banks have deprived the UK government of £6bn in revenues, according to campaigners, who are calling on the chancellor, John Healey, to increase taxes and force lenders to pay their “fair share” in the budget.

Calculations by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents unions with more than 5.3 million members across England and Wales, shows that the public purse is billions of pounds worse off as a result of tax cuts introduced under the Tory chancellor Rishi Sunak in 2023.

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Burnham to pass law scrapping pension triple lock before next election

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Guarantee will remain until 2030 but MPs will vote on changes during this parliament, government says

Andy Burnham will pass legislation to scrap the state pension triple lock in this parliament, even though the guarantee will remain until 2030, the government has said.

The prime minister used his conference speech to announce a change to the policy, which guarantees that the state pension rises by the highest of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth.

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Tech in cars can be used to snoop on you, Dutch spy chiefs warn

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Hostile states could access cameras, microphones or GPS, says intelligence agency amid concerns over Chinese imports

Drivers have been warned that the smart features built into modern cars such as microphones, cameras and GPS trackers could be used by hostile states to spy on them.

The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) called for “awareness of espionage risks around modern vehicles”, including microphones that can by switched on remotely to listen to conversations.

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Thinktank linked to Reform UK calls for abolition of state pension

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‘Radical’ report likely to influence party’s platform also proposes abolishing inheritance and capital gains taxes

A thinktank linked to Reform UK has called for the abolition of the state pension and £75bn worth of sweeping tax cuts in a “radical” report likely to influence the party’s platform for the next election.

The Centre for a Better Britain’s (CFABB) report – which also calls for weaker rules for UK banks and Trump-style investment accounts offering £1,000 to newborns – will be formally launched at a private event with City executives on Wednesday.

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High-mileage electric cars are more reliable than petrol ones, study finds

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EVs with 90,000 to 120,000 miles on the clock are more likely to pass MOTs than petrol models of the same age

Motorists buying a secondhand car with a lot of miles on the clock are likely to find an electric vehicle (EV) ultimately more reliable than a petrol vehicle, according to a study.

An analysis of 47.4m MOT tests found that after cars were driven 90,000 to 120,000 miles, EVs were about 25% less likely to fail than petrol models of the same age (based on a failure rate of 16.5% versus 22.1%).

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UK chancellor urged to remove ‘hidden taxes’ from energy bills

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Businesses, charities and other groups sign letter calling for levies to be paid by the government

More than 120 organisations including big businesses and charities have called for the removal of “hidden taxes” added to energy bills to help reduce costs for consumers and prevent businesses closing.

In a letter to the chancellor the signatories – including Energy UK, business trade body the CBI, End Fuel Poverty and Age UK – called for levies amounting to 10% of energy bills that fund policies to be paid for by the government. John Healey is to present his first budget on 28 October.

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UK chancellor urged to remove £100k childcare ‘cliff edge’ prompting parents to cut work hours

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Critics say threshold pushes higher-paid staff to cut back on work and often mothers to stop working to avoid losing entitlement

John Healey has been urged to fix the £100,000 childcare “cliff edge”, that means some higher-paid employees cut back on work to avoid losing their entitlement.

Since the latest expansion of taxpayer-funded childcare in 2024, families with young children in which both parents earn less than £100,000 a year can be entitled to 30 hours a week of care - or none at all, if one of them cross that threshold.

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US labor unions saw membership gains in 2025, mostly in states with bargaining protections

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Uptick in US union membership coincides with high public approval ratings of unions

After years of decline, union membership in the US increased by 411,000 members in 2025, the largest increase since 2008, according to a new report.

The report makes clear the impact that “right to work” laws can have on union membership: most gains were concentrated in states that protect collective bargaining.

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UK mortgage borrowers brace for rate jump amid global bond sell-off

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Swap rates rise to three-year high as increase in oil prices leads to fears of higher inflation

Homeowners in the UK are braced for a jump in mortgage rates, driven by higher inflation and interest rate increase expectations amid turmoil in the global bond markets.

UK swap rates, which lenders use to price mortgages, have risen to a three-year high, as this week’s global bond market sell-off ripples through the economy.

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UK houses near top state secondary schools cost £40,000 more, research reveals

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Premium of nearly 10% paid by housebuyers comparable with cost of a cheaper private school over seven years

A house near a top state secondary school costs an extra £40,000 on average, according to research that reveals education premiums that rank alongside some private school fees.

The average property in a postcode district that includes a top 50 state secondary commands a price tag of £415,791, compared with £375,217 across the wider local authority areas in which those schools are located, a UK-wide analysis by the estate agent Yopa found.

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AA could face £5bn takeover move by German insurer Allianz, reports claim

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Breakdown recovery group’s private equity owners reportedly in talks with various suitors to sell company

The German-based financial services company ⁠Allianz is considering a £5bn takeover swoop for AA, ⁠the breakdown ⁠recovery ​group, Sky News has reported.

Allianz was ‌one of a small number of parties holding talks with advisers to AA about a deal, Sky News said, adding that ‌the private equity outfit EQT was another bidder.

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Burnham announces crackdown on rogue bailiffs and ‘cowboy builders’

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New rules are aimed at protecting people in debt in England and Wales and stopping homeowners being ripped off

A clampdown on “rogue bailiffs” has been launched by Andy Burnham amid concerns that vulnerable people are being overcharged and face aggressive behaviour.

In the latest in a series of “everyday fixes” to ease the cost of living and “make Britain fairer”, the prime minister said he was strengthening the rules that apply to bailiffs in England and Wales to better protect people in debt.

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Households in Great Britain ‘could owe energy suppliers £7bn by end of year’

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After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UK

Households in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as £7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning.

Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about £500m over the past year to a record £6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices.

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‘Friday afternoon fraud’: warning for UK homebuyers on bank scams

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Victims have lost tens of thousands – and in one case £300,000 – due to fake emails from solicitor or estate agent

You are poised to move house and are awaiting the solicitor’s instructions that things are ready to go and it is time to hand over your deposit. When the email arrives giving you their bank details, you set up the transfer and move the cash. And then the solicitor calls to ask where the money is.

Conveyancing fraud involves criminals getting access to an email chain between homebuyers and their solicitors or estate agents and requesting payment to a bank account they control. Sometimes the solicitor has been hacked, but often the homebuyer has been the victim of a phishing exercise.

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