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Extreme heat is becoming a workplace planning issue for employers. HSE has warned companies to assess and manage heat risks as alerts raise fresh duty-of-care and productivity concerns.
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Prime Day returns are becoming a reverse-logistics stress test again. Manhattan Associates research estimates UK shoppers could return 61 million items after this year’s Amazon event.
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Sainsbury’s retail media push signals a broader marketing shift now. Nectar360 Pollen is reporting early performance gains as supermarkets turn loyalty data, measurement, and in-store media into strategic revenue streams.
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Audit sanctions sharpen independence warnings for finance and governance leaders. The FRC has penalised King & King and Milankumar Patel over GFG Alliance audits, citing fee dependency, ethical breaches, and audit failures.
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Britain’s tax gap is widening despite stronger enforcement ambitions again. HMRC estimates £59.2bn went unpaid in 2024 to 2025, with small businesses accounting for the largest share.
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Deforestation rules would bring procurement deeper into ESG compliance work. Defra plans to consult on mandatory due diligence for forest-risk commodities, requiring stronger supply-chain evidence, geolocation data, and sourcing controls.
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HMRC’s tax update adds another compliance track for finance teams. The 2026 package spans digital tax administration, marketplaces, customs, PAYE, self-assessment, VAT, software standards, and company distributions.
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Manufacturing demand has weakened just as cost pressure remains elevated. The CBI says UK order books have fallen to their weakest level since 2020, with output also declining across most sub-sectors.
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Cheap import reforms will redraw tax pressure across online retail. The government is accelerating customs changes for low-value imports and reviewing online marketplace VAT liability, raising operational questions for retailers, platforms, sellers, and finance teams.
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UK boards are favouring proven chiefs under uncertainty and pressure. Heidrick & Struggles says the CEO route is narrowing, with finance backgrounds, international appointments, and later-career moves dominating.