Primark turns down £30m bonus

Get straight to the good stuff every day with the Multiply Minute; a lightning-quick round-up of the money news and how it affects you.

No thanks, Rishi

Primark has said it won’t claim the £30 million government bonus for retaining its furloughed staff. Primark is a bricks and mortar-only company without an online store, and furloughed 30,000 employees until shops reopened last month. It has now said all staff are working again so they won’t be needing the government handout, which could put pressure on other businesses to do the same.

Brexit prep ramps up

The end of the Brexit transition period is fast approaching and today the government will set out immigration and border control plans to take effect from 1st January 2021. There will also be travel advice for anyone heading to the continent next year, which so far includes taking out travel insurance and checking data roaming charges before you go.

Postie’s been fined

The tardiness of the post is a favourite grumble for many, but it turns out Royal Mail did actually miss its targets in 2018. It’s been fined £1.5 million by regulator Ofcom after delivering just 91.5% of first-class post within 1 day. It’s meant to hit 93%.

Back to the city

Some UK companies have reopened their offices and are preparing to welcome back workers. After months of video calls, PwC, Deloitte and law firm Slaughter and May are making a cautious return to face-to-face working. They might feel a bit lonely - in the next few months the 30 biggest employers in London’s financial district say they only intend to bring between 20% and 40% of their staff back into the office.