THE HUB’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS

Another week full of headlines for The Hub Retail Recruitment to tell you about. So many to choose from, but we’ll focus on: Sainsbury’s quest to buy Argos & Habitat; John Lewis’s bonuses; Philip Green and the BHS pension gap; and a report that estimates a third of us are disappointed with our careers.

SAINSBURY’S QUEST TO BUY ARGOS & HABITAT: It would seem that Sainsbury’s has until Friday to increase its bid to buy Home Retail Group – which own Argos and Habitat – if it’s to beat off the competition from South African firm Steinhof. Experts are tipping Sainsbury’s to increase its offer from £1.3b to £1.5b. Friday is the deadline – so we should know next week if Sainsbury’s has pulled it off. Meanwhile, both Sainsbury’s and HRG’s shares have increased because of better than expected sales over recent months – Sainsbury’s has just had its first increase in two years. Here’s a couple of articles that we found interesting:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3489414/Now-Sainsbury-s-set-raise-Argos-bid-1-5bn-surge-share-price.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35809517

JOHN LEWIS’S BONUSES: John Lewis has announced that its staff – or partners – will get 10% bonuses, which Charlie Mayfield, its Chairman, equates to about 5 weeks’ salary. However, it continues the downward trend – in 2013 it was 17%, 15% in 2014, and 11% last year. Its apparently because the pre tax profits went down from £343m to £305m partly due to an increase in pension costs. Here’s a couple of articles that go into more details:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35772319

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/mar/10/john-lewis-waitrose-staff-bonus-falls-again

PHILIP GREEN & BHS PENSION GAP: It would appear that The Pensions Regulator might require Philip Green to pay £280m toward the BHS pension hole. Whilst it would seem that Mr Green is already offering several £ms, it falls way short of the £280m. Even if the money were to be paid, it is estimated that pensions would be cut by about 10% – although those already drawing it would be unaffected.  The Pensions Regulator can require former owners of a company to meet a pension gap – but this would be a bit of a test case if it did – so one to watch. A helpful article explains the ins and outs.

http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2016/03/sir-philip-greens-super-yacht-is-ready-just-as-hes-asked-to-contribute-ps280m-to-bhs-lifeboat-scheme

A THIRD OF US ARE DISAPPOINTED WITH OUR CAREERS: According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, a third of us are disappointed with our careers. Apparently, the root of this discontent is twofold: poor career advice whilst in education which put us on the wrong career path in the first place, and/or poor management once in work that has then held us back. Here’s the press release from the CIPD about this, which includes a link to the full report.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/pressoffice/press-releases/eo-skills-careers-150316.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=press_release&utm_term=68296&utm_content=eo-skills-careers-150316-5247-6915–20160315173908-http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cipd.co.uk%2Fpressoffice%2Fpress-releases%2Feo-skills-careers-150316.aspx

And finally…Last week we reported that Parliament was voting on devolving Sunday trading decisions to local councils – which was likely to mean extending existing hours. The Government was defeated on this occasion – but it won’t be the end of the story. Another one to watch.

As ever, we hope you’ve found these headlines interesting, and relevant. Do let us know your thoughts – and look out for THE HUB RETAIL RECRUITMENT’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS next week on Wednesday 23rd March.