Human Times

UK Edition

29th July 2026

THE HOT STORY

Bursary targets apprenticeship benefit trap

Parents receiving benefits could get up to £4,500 a year when a 16- or 17-year-old child starts an apprenticeship, offsetting lost child benefit and universal credit. The scheme targets families who may otherwise be worse off, including cases where losses can reach £339 a week. Pat McFadden, work and pensions secretary, said welfare should be “a springboard to opportunity, not a barrier to it.” Campaigners welcomed action but urged simple applications and clarity over whether payments go to young people or parents. The measure forms part of wider plans to reduce record numbers of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training. Separately, small employers say insurance, liability and risk-assessment rules can deter them from offering work experience, particularly in trades and higher-risk workplaces.

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

New vocational courses to be introduced in English secondary schools

Secondary school pupils in England will be able to study vocational subjects such as manufacturing, artificial intelligence and green technologies alongside core academic subjects under government reforms announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Available from Year 10, the courses will be linked to local industries and include work experience and employer partnerships to help prepare young people for employment. The Government hopes the initiative will reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), with pilot programmes expected to begin in some areas by 2028. While business groups and school leaders welcomed the focus on technical education, they warned that success would depend on adequate funding, school capacity and clearer implementation plans. Ofsted will also introduce inspections covering technical education as part of the reforms.

BBC News

London Evening Standard

The Independent UK

Lord Baker backs vocational education reforms

Lord Baker, a former Education Secretary, has backed Prime Minister Andy Burnham's plans to expand technical education, arguing the reforms could help tackle rising youth unemployment. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Baker said giving pupils access to vocational learning from age 14 would provide practical skills, stronger links with employers and clearer routes into work. Drawing on the success of University Technical Colleges (UTCs), he argued that students who receive hands-on training are less likely to become unemployed after leaving school. Baker also said the reforms would help address skills shortages while placing technical education on an equal footing with academic study.

The Daily Telegraph

HIRING

Job market shifts as AI rises

Data from Employment Hero suggests UK hiring is shifting towards practical and technology-led roles as businesses cut costs and adopt AI. Construction employment rose 2.1% in June and 8.1% over three months, while manufacturing increased 4.7% monthly and 9.3% annually. Education roles grew 4.4%, and science and technology recorded the strongest monthly rise at 5.7%. Kevin Fitzgerald, Employment Hero’s UK managing director, said many young people were “changing tack” towards vocational careers and apprenticeships. By contrast, accountancy employment fell 6% over three months, banking declined 5.7%, and administrative roles slipped 0.3% in June. Automation, economic pressure, political uncertainty and skills shortages are contributing to weaker recruitment in finance and office-based work.

Daily Mail

STRATEGY

GSK to cut jobs for new campus, drug pipeline

GSK plans to reduce its back office workforce to finance a £400m mega-campus in Cambridge, which will house over 1,000 scientists. The cost-saving drive will also fund a new pipeline of drugs ahead of the expiration of exclusivity on four HIV medicines between 2028 and 2030, which accounted for almost 20% of GSK’s revenues last year.

Entain to axe 500 jobs amid tax hikes

Entain will eliminate 500 jobs to manage rising UK tax rates and increased competition from prediction markets. The online gambling tax rate rose from 21% to 40% in April, adding approximately £200m in annual costs. Entain aims to offset at least 50% of this increase through job cuts.

London Evening Standard

WORKPLACE

Lloyd's staff escape heatwave with WFH

Lloyd's of London has permitted its employees to work from home as temperatures in the City are expected to reach 33C. Approximately 1,200 staff can choose to stay away from the office, although the building remains open with air conditioning. The company has also provided complimentary ice cream and themed refreshments during recent heatwaves. City AM revealed last month that firms including JPMorgan Chase, ING and Deutsche dropped desk orders during the June heatwave.

City AM

LEGAL

Former Connells boss wins unfair dismissal case

David Livesey, the former boss of Connells, has won his case for unfair dismissal and age discrimination against Skipton Building Society. The tribunal upheld two discrimination claims but rejected his bullying allegations against chief executive Stuart Haire. Livesey, 67, claimed he was forced out after 33 years at Connells and sought £7m in damages. The tribunal found that the treatment he received regarding Connells shares was unjustified, as he received only 46p for shares worth £420,000, while a fellow director received over £1.6m. Skipton expressed disappointment with the ruling.

Daily Mail

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Grant Thornton partners pocket £35.2m payout

Grant Thornton's UK equity partners received a £35.2m payout following a significant stake acquisition by private equity firm Cinven. Companies House filings revealed that around 208 partners each received approximately £160,000, boosting their annual earnings by 23%. The deal, announced in November 2024, marked Grant Thornton as the largest UK professional services firm to accept external equity investment, resulting in a reported revenue growth of £787m, a 4% increase from the previous year. Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, noted in March the importance of maintaining independence and ethics in audit firms amid rising private equity interest.

City AM

SUSTAINABILITY

UK firms cut climate reporting errors

According to new research by Deloitte, the UK's largest companies are making fewer error-driven adjustments to their climate and sustainability metrics. The analysis of FTSE 100 firms revealed that nearly 70% made adjustments in 2025, particularly for greenhouse gas emissions, up from about 50% in 2024. Notably, the number of error-driven restatements decreased by 23% compared to the previous year. These findings come as the UK prepares to mandate climate reporting for many listed companies next year.

Bloomberg Tax

REGULATION

EY fined £1.2m for breaching standards on Made.com audit

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has fined EY £1.1m and its London managing partner, Julie Carlyle, £49,000 for audit failings linked to the now-collapsed retailer Made.com. The investigation revealed that EY and Carlyle did not adequately assess the accuracy of the retailer's financial forecasts or gather sufficient evidence regarding deferred tax assets. Penrose Foss, executive counsel at the FRC, commented: "In this case the auditors relied on management's forecasts without applying sufficient challenge or carrying out adequate testing to obtain sufficient evidence." Made.com went into administration in 2022 after a decline in consumer demand.

ECONOMY

UK shop price inflation eases, but retailers warn of rising cost pressures

UK shop price inflation slowed to 0.9% in July, down from 1.2% in June, as retailers offered heavy promotions on food, clothing and footwear, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NIQ Shop Price Index. Non-food inflation eased to 0.2% from 0.6%, while food inflation fell to 2.2% from 2.4%, although fresh food inflation rose to 3.1%. The BRC warned that higher employment costs, packaging taxes, global instability and climate-related disruption are likely to increase pressure on retail prices in the months ahead.

Bloomberg

Reuters

The Standard

INTERNATIONAL

US lawmakers propose AI 'kill switch'

US lawmakers have proposed an "AI Kill Switch Act" which would allow federal authorities to halt AI models. The proposal, sponsored by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to order top AI firms to shut down or slow AI models that the government deems too dangerous, and also require those companies to report incidents and create the technical capacity to shut down, limit or suspend their systems. Lieu said the bill is urgently needed to address new cybersecurity risks raised by the latest AI models. "This is urgent, common sense legislation to address the problem of an advanced AI model that has gone rogue and escaped its guardrails," he wrote in a post on X. OpenAI earlier this month said its AI system had hacked into another AI company on its own in what it called an “unprecedented cyber incident.”

Politico

Reuters

Porsche to cut 9,000 jobs by 2035

Porsche plans to eliminate over 9,000 jobs by 2035, affecting about 20% of its workforce. The decision follows an agreement with trade unions and adds to the 4,400 job cuts already made in the past 18 months. The restructuring reflects challenges in the automotive industry, particularly due to declining sales in China and difficulties in transitioning to electric vehicles. Michael Leiters, Porsche's CEO, said: "The future package is good for Porsche. It gives us the opportunity to strategically realign our company and invest in our competitiveness." Volkswagen, Porsche's parent company, is also pursuing significant redundancies.

The Times

New Korean labour rules are under scrutiny

South Korea's new Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act, also known as the Yellow Envelope Act, faces trenchant criticism just four months after its implementation. Critics warn it could lead to increased labour disputes and uncertainty for businesses. The act broadens the scope of labour disputes beyond traditional issues such as wages, working hours, welfare and dismissals to include “business management decisions affecting working conditions.” This has empowered unions to make demands previously deemed outside their bargaining power. For instance, Samsung Electronics' union has argued that a planned 800 trillion won investment should require union approval due to its potential impact on employee conditions.

South China Morning Post

OTHER

Amazon cracks down on use of AI images by sellers

Amazon is requiring third-party sellers to label product images and videos featuring AI-generated people in response to a new New York law that mandates disclosure when advertisements use "synthetic performers" instead of human actors. Sellers must add metadata identifying AI-generated content, while Amazon will display labels on applicable product listings to improve transparency for consumers.

CNBC

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