It is a World of Trouble For Sure

No.10 is reportedly close to announcing that it will lift a cap on visas for skilled migrants after it was revealed to be preventing thousands of doctors from entering the UK to work. The Prime Minister has been under pressure from cabinet colleagues to remove the restrictions. Home Secretary Sajid Javid told the Andrew Marr Show that he would be taking a fresh look at the policy alongside his current review of the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ policy for migrants which has come under fire following the Windrush scandal.
 
Amazon is facing a legal battle over employment rights for its deliver drivers after the GMB union announced it would be taking the firm to court on behalf of its members. The union argues that Amazon wrongly classifies drivers as self-employed and is pushing for better employment rights, including holiday and sick pay.

‘Every little counts’ Tesco Stores is under fire ahead of its AGM next week over its almost £5m pay package for boss Dave Lewis. Shareholder advisory group Pirc has called on investors to vote against the remuneration report at the annual meeting, calling it excessive. The package for Lewis saw him take home a base salary of £1.25m along with over £2m in a bonus and just under £1m in shares.

As well as highlighting that increases in executive salaries had not matched increases in the value the firm was creating for shareholders, Pirc also pointed out that Tesco’s pay ratio between the CEO and an average employee was at 267:1. Tesco along with other large firms will be forced to report this ratio under a new requirement due to be brought in this year.

The future of department store chain, House of Fraser is in question this week as an argument between its owners and lenders to the firm threatens to upset a planned rescue package. The high street chain is seeking to undertake a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) whereby it would be able to get rid of loss making stores and restructure its portfolio.
 
The announcement of plans to shut certain stores appeared to take the companies landlords by surprise and now several property companies are reportedly planning to oppose the CVA. If the current rescue plan fails then it could well see House of Fraser collapse into administration, threatening the jobs of its 17,000 strong workforce.

Image: House of Frazer teetering on the brink.