SNIPPETS FROM RETAILSECTOR.CO.UK
HIGH STREET
3,200 stores
‘disappear’ from
high street over
past four years
The new figures have been provided by
the Office of National Statistics (ONS)
The number of physical shops in the
UK has fallen by almost 3,200 over the
past four years, down 1.2% to 263,070.
According to the British Retail
Consortium (BRC) the reason for the
decline is down to a “transformation”
of the industry, driven by changes
in shopping habits, new technology,
stiff competition and an increasing
regulatory burden.
The group added that many retailers
are responding by refining its business
models, investing in technology,
improving their logistics capabilities
and reducing their store portfolios.
Rachel Lund, head of insights
and analytics at the British Retail
Consortium, said: “The continued
cumulative burden of public policy
costs is accelerating the pace of this
change.
“This data reinforces the need for
the Government to demonstrate their
commitment to ‘backing business’ and
use the upcoming budget to reduce the
disproportionate cost of the outdated
business rates system.”
GOVERNMENT
Businesses could
be forced to
publish ethnicity
pay gaps
Prime minister Theresa May has
announced a series of measures
to tackle ethnic disparities in the
workplace, which includes the
mandatory publishing of ethnicity
pay gaps.
The government has invited
businesses to share its views on this
mandatory approach to ethnicity
November 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
pay reporting, since according
to the group the number of
organisations publishing information
on the pay gap for people from
different ethnic backgrounds
voluntarily remains low.
The consultation, open until
January 2019, will set out in detail
what information employers should
publish to allow for decisive action
to be taken while also asking them
how ethnicity data can be collected
without placing “undue burdens on
businesses”.
The consultation on ethnicity pay
reporting is in response to the Race
Disparity Audit’s ‘ethnicity facts
and figures’ website data, which
revealed significant disparities in
the pay and progression of ethnic
minority employees compared to
their white counterparts.
May said: “Every employee
deserves the opportunity to
progress and fulfil their potential
in their chosen field, regardless
of which background they are
from, but too often ethnic minority
employees feel they ’re hitting a
brick wall when it comes to career
progression.
“Our focus is now on making sure
the UK’s organisations, boardrooms
and senior management teams are
truly reflective of the workplaces
they manage, and the measures we
are taking today will help employers
identify the actions needed to
create a fairer and more diverse
workforce.”
Sandra Kerr, Business in the
Community race equality director,
added: “All organisations should
recruit from the widest pool of
talent and support progression. The
race at work survey of over 24,000
employees showed that all too
often ethnic minority staff are still
encountering significant disparities
at work.
“ The race at work charter will
support leaders and line managers
to take practical steps to tackle
the barriers, with five clear actions.
By signing up, we can ensure the
workplace is representative of
British society today.”
RETAIL NEWS
Retail sector
‘to face £186.45m
business rates
increase next
April’
Retail firms will see business rates
increase by £186.45 next April for the
year 2019/20, according to real estate
advisor Altus Group.
September’s Consumer Prices
Index (CPI) measure of inflation,
announced on 17 October at 2.4%
will determine business rate rises in
England for the next year. It is its third
year under the new revaluation, with
the Uniform Business Rate uprated
annually for inflation.
Altus Group predicts business
rates bills next year for 2019/20 will
increase by £728.20m in England
overall unless the chancellor
announces some changes in the
upcoming Autumn Budget.
The standard multiplier, which
applies to 492,165 larger premises
in England who’s rateable value is
£51,000 and above, will rise to 50.5p,
in England from April next year. This is
the first time the tax rate for business
rates will have gone above 50%
according to Altus Group. When the
national business rates system was
introduced in 1990, the multiplier was
set at 34.8p.
Business rates bills are calculated
by multiplying the property’s rateable
value, an estimation of the open
market annual rent on 1 April 2015, by
the multiplier. The multiplier represents
the number of pence in each pound of
the rateable value that will be payable
in business rates before any reliefs or
discounts are applied.
Chancellor Philip Hammond
attempted to appease concerns over
last year’s business rates revaluation,
with the announcement of a £2.3bn
reprieve in his Autumn 2017 Budget by
bringing forward plans to switch from
the discredited Retail Prices Index (RPI)
measure, two years earlier, from April
this year.
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