Nearly 2,000 Foreign Office jobs ‘at risk’, says PCS union
Almost 2,000 civil servants at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office face the risk of redundancy, with the biggest union for government workers vowing to fight the cuts.The PCS union, which has about 200,000 members, said it had been told that 1,885 jobs at the second highest level, known as delegated grades, were “at risk”, in addition to redundancy notices that have already been issued to some senior civil servants.The union linked the cuts to the government’s decision to reduce the foreign aid budget and accused the department of failing to follow civil service protocol by putting a number on job cuts before consulting.The Foreign Office (FCDO) said it was reducing its headcount to make the department more agile, after its permanent secretary, Olly Robbins, said earlier in the year that the department planned to reduce the size of its workforce by up to 25% as part of wider civil service changes.The Cabinet Office has previously announced plans to lose tens of thousands of roles in the civil service, but most attempted cuts so far have been through not replacing staff and voluntary, rather than compulsory, redundancy programmes.
The 1,885 jobs “at risk” at delegated grades come at the same time as the FCDO has been issuing redundancy notices to director generals who have been unsuccessful in securing a role in a newly restructured department.Their last day of service will be at the beginning of December.The PCS said it had “serious concerns” about how the reduction in director general posts has been handled, saying employers were supposed to go through a process called a redundancy mitigation review with the Cabinet Office and trade unions, offering voluntary redundancy before compulsory redundancy notices were issued.It said this did not happen because the voluntary programme closed before the restructure started.Fran Heathcote, the PCS general secretary, said: “We will strongly resist the FCDO’s plans to slash its UK-based workforce by up to 30%.
“Our members have seen no justification for these cuts and have yet to be told what work has been deemed disposable by management.To add insult to injury, the government’s recent cuts to the overseas aid budget will not only lead to job losses and a loss of valuable expertise, but could cost hundreds of thousands of lives overseas.“If the FCDO is serious about delivering a safe, secure and prosperous Britain and wider world, it needs to listen to its own workers’ concerns about its job cuts programme.”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionAn FCDO spokesperson told Civil Service World: “The FCDO is embarking on a series of changes over the next five years.This will include a headcount reduction as we move towards a slimmer, more agile workforce.
“This is a key step in our reform programme to ensure that the FCDO is more open, more strategic and more technologically enabled, to deliver maximum security and growth for the British people.”
UK government borrowing costs fall to lowest level since July
The UK government’s borrowing costs have fallen to the lowest level since July as Rachel Reeves considers tax rises and spending cuts before next month’s autumn budget.In a boost for the chancellor, the yield – in effect the interest rate – on 10-year UK government bonds has fallen by about 0.15 percentage points this week, after briefly dipping below 4.5% early on Friday for the first time in three months.Government bond yields have tumbled across advanced economies, as investors scrambled to buy safe-haven assets amid fears over US-China trade tensions and signs of stress in the US banking system
Gaucho chain to slash waiters’ share of service charge and boost head office pay
The Argentinian steak restaurant Gaucho is slashing the share of the service charge its waiters receive, using some of the funds to bump up the pay package of head office workers.A letter to workers seen by the Guardian says that from 1 October existing waiters would receive between 25.45% and 29.4% of the service charge collected at tables they have served, depending on length of service, down from 37% previously – already a reduction from 45% early last year. Bar staff will get 17% of the service charge, down from 20%
‘Finances are getting tighter’: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans
Alarm bells are ringing on Wall Street. The recent collapses of Tricolor, a used car seller and sub-prime auto lender, and First Brands, an auto parts supplier, have put the finance industry on edge, almost two decades after problems in the sub-prime mortgage lending market set the stage for the global financial crisis.“When you see one cockroach, there are probably more,” Jamie Dimon, the JPMorgan Chase CEO, ominously cautioned analysts this week, after the US’s largest bank disclosed a $170m charge tied to Tricolor’s bankruptcy. “Everyone should be forewarned on this one.”As the car lending market shows signs of strain, business around repossessions is booming
Ferrari cuts number of cars it sends to UK after non-dom tax status scrapped
Ferrari has cut the number of cars it sells in the UK as wealthy individuals relocate overseas after tax changes and the abolition of non-dom status.The Italian luxury carmaker reportedly began limiting the number of vehicles it exported to the UK about six months ago, in an attempt to stop a decline in their residual value.Benedetto Vigna, the chief executive of the carmaker, said that Ferrari had seen a “stabilisation” in sales after its decision to reduce the number of vehicles it allocated to the UK.“Some people are getting out of that country for tax reasons,” he told the Financial Times, adding that taxes were not the only reason for the fall in residual values. “There are many different factors
The ‘messy’ trend behind Australia’s rising unemployment is worrying economists
As Jim Chalmers moves among the global elite during the G20 talkfest with fellow finance ministers and big-time investors in Washington this week, he will be spruiking Australia’s enviable economic performance over recent years.A particular point of pride has been the strength of the labour market.Not only has unemployment stayed low, the increase in the share of working-age Australians with a job has climbed by 3.1 percentage points since immediately before the pandemic.That increase is twice the OECD average, and compares with zero growth in the US and New Zealand
Australia Post incorrectly charged tariffs on items ordered online being returned to the US
Australia Post incorrectly collected tariffs from customers returning items to the US after retail parcel services to the country resumed last week, the government-owned postal service has admitted.Australia Post said it had identified an error with a third-party provider where “a number of customers” were incorrectly charged a tariff for postal returns of US-manufactured items, which should not be subject to import duties.“The error was quickly fixed, and we are reaching out to impacted customers,” a spokesperson said in a statement. They will receive a refund.Parcel services were halted in August when the US suspended the “de minimis” exemption, which allowed parcels worth less than US$800 to enter the country duty-free
London developers to be allowed to reduce percentage of affordable homes
NHS medical negligence liabilities hit £60bn amid surge in maternity payouts
Virginia Giuffre’s story of abuse exposes impunity of powerful men, UK experts say
Brace for early flu season in England and get vaccinated, say experts
UK woman who travelled with husband to assisted dying clinic will not face charges
Experts urge UK to ban cigarette filters to protect health and environment