No furlough for working mums

The 1-minute read to get the money news you need.

Furlough requests refused

71% of working mothers who asked to be furloughed after schools shut have been turned down. The scheme is designed to allow working parents to go on furlough if they can’t work due to a lack of childcare. But a survey by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) shows that 2 in 5 working mothers didn’t realise it was available to them.

Record tech investment

Despite pandemic pandemonium, London secured a record £7.7 billion investment in its tech sector in 2020. That’s almost double the 2019 figure, and puts the capital in 5th position for tech investment worldwide. The largest share came from North America, with European investors accounting for less than half.

Retail job losses

England’s high streets could see mass shop closures because of increased remote working and online shopping, risking up to 400,000 jobs. Southern commuter towns are the most vulnerable to retail closures, according to the new data from accountancy firm KPMG.

Supermarket pay rise

Morrisons will start paying all its staff at least £10 per hour, after a bumper year that also gave the public new appreciation for supermarket workers. Pressure is growing on the others to follow suit, after they all saw their sales surge during the lockdowns.

Silver surfers

Over-50s have been on a holiday booking spree in the last couple of weeks, as the vaccine rollout begins. In a welcome ray of sunshine for the beleaguered travel industry, coach and tour operators have seen a rush - National Express says bookings by over 65s are up 185% on last year.