Category: In Business

There was a time when hiring a mother was a positive thing for employers. Mothers were seen as reliable, hardworking and trustworthy; after all they had a child to support. However according to a recent survey, it would appear that times have changed.

Nearly two thirds of UK businesses have admitted they do not provide a good level of support for their employees to volunteer. Despite strong demand from employees to engage more with their local communities, just over a third of business managers said they currently provide a good level of support, such as allocating staff a few hours a month to volunteer.

The office Christmas party season will be in full swing this week, with 65% of workers attending on average two work events over the next few days. However this revelry will cost UK business £620 million, due to hung-over Britons pulling a ‘Hangover Sickie’.

In one of the largest UK settlements to date, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has settled with a media hosting company following an investigation into its use of unlicensed software. The investigation was launched after the BSA was tipped-off by a former employee. The company paid in excess of £100,000 in damages, in addition to paying a significant amount to purchase legal copies of Microsoft and Adobe software.

New research has revealed that nearly two million of UK small businesses are set to move to international markets over the next year, with a third claiming overseas economies are increasingly more welcoming to small businesses than here in the UK.

Over half of UK small business owners will turn to their husband, wife or partner before anyone else for straight talking business advice, according to a national survey of small business owners published today. Spouses and partners were preferred to accountants, trade bodies or other local businesses and bank managers.

The winners of the 2010 NatWest everywoman Awards, which recognise the success of the UK’s most inspirational female business owners, have been announced at a glittering lunch in London at the eighth annual award ceremony. celebrates successful entrepreneurs who are playing their part in helping to pull the UK out of recession and acting as inspirational role models for the next generation of aspiring business women.

Stay-at-home mums, who feel under attack by a Government that is clawing back their Child Benefit, are restoring their financial independence by creating businesses at home according to entrepreneur Krista Waddell

The boss of a leading Derbyshire based manufacturing company has issued a rallying call for UK manufacturing firms to pull together to help boost output and prevent work going abroad.

Two UK and one Irish company have just been announced as winners at the finale of the prestigious European Business Awards 2010.

The IT system specialist SAP has announced the winner of the inaugural Go for Growth Excellence Awards for Professional Services 2010. The award forms part of the online community that has been created to share thought leadership and innovation amongst small to medium sized business.

Research finds that only 16 per cent of British small and medium sized businesses are prepared to offer flexible working, compared to 69 per cent of their stock market listed cousins.

Ten of Europe’s most successful businesses will be announced at the finale of the prestigious European Business Awards 2010 on Tuesday 16th November.

Lord Young will deliver one of his first major speeches as David Cameron’s new enterprise adviser at the grand final of BusinessZone.co.uk’s competition The Pitch 2010 in London on 16 November.

With the UK economy still feeling the impact of the recession, research from small business e-commerce company Alibaba.com has revealed that owners of small and medium businesses and start-ups are missing an opportunity to reduce operating costs and drive revenue, which could help safeguard them against another financial downturn.