Cool Crutches and Walking Sticks, an innovative mobility aid company, has revealed a list of over 20 benefits that disabled individuals can take advantage of, some of which may come as a surprise. As someone who personally navigates life with a disability, Amelia Peckham, Co-Founder of Cool Crutches and Walking Sticks, understands the daily trials and triumphs that come with it. Her own experiences have driven her to not only provide mobility solutions but also to highlight the often surprising benefits that can significantly alleviate the financial strains faced by the disabled community. Amelia has created a comprehensive guide – “The…
Author: sme-admin
In recent weeks, searches for ‘side hustles’ have increased by 80%, indicating that those who are already employed are looking for ways to earn additional income. This shift in behaviour can be linked to a combination of factors, such as increasing financial pressure due to the rising cost of living, economic uncertainties prompting individuals to seek additional income streams, and, notably, the widespread issue of low wages. With demand for ‘salary expectations’ up by 25%, people are questioning whether their salaries are fair. Your age isn’t the only number that increases over time. As you accrue more experience in the workplace, your value to employers inevitably increases, and therefore, salary expectations…
Newly released research has identified the top European country for female career progression. Scandinavian nations were found to be leaders in fostering female career advancement. Iceland emerged as the leading country for female workers, securing the top spot with an impressive score of 86.49 while the UK secured only 13th place, achieving a score of 52.08 out of 100. The study, conducted by experts at Claims.co.uk, delved into gender gap data sourced from the World Economic Forum (WEF) to pinpoint the most progressive country for female employment. 46 European countries underwent a detailed review, receiving a total score out of 100…
It’s tough for SME businesses right now. Recession news, rising supplier costs, less consumer spending. Many business owners are rightly worried about what this year will bring. Small and medium sized businesses remain the backbone of the UK economy and it is thought that SMEs equate for around 99% of the business population and three-fifths of UK employment. It’s therefore imperative that these businesses are supported through tougher times and helped to get into the best position possible, not just for survival in uncertain markets, but to be optimised for growth as well. Most SME business owners will think of…
Travelling, whether it is for business or leisure purposes, can be an opportunity to discover new and interesting places. But what every destination has in common is the unique option of accommodation, especially for business travellers – who may regularly be seeing the inside of a different hotel room. But unlike the excitement of your all-inclusive holiday hotel, or the hostel you might check into with like-minded travellers, business travel can see you away from your home for extended periods of time, without those creature comforts that remind you of the home you will be returning to. The feeling of…
Thanks to a £100k grant from Youth Music, Rockinghorse Children’s Charity and Wishing Well Music for Health will deliver three more years of joyful music-making in children’s healthcare settings across Sussex. Rockinghorse previously worked with Wishing Well Music for Health, a Sussex based non-profit, to deliver their Youth Music programme for three years from 2020. But this new grant will enable these sessions to continue for another three years, benefitting thousands of children spending time in hospital. This project is backed by Youth Music, thanks to the National Lottery via Arts Council England. It aims to enrich the time spent in…
2023 saw a drop off in UK merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in comparison with the previous year – which is perhaps unsurprising, given the political turmoil we witnessed in the final quarter of 2022 and the continued interest rate rises that followed throughout 2023. Business confidence was dented, and borrowing became the most expensive it had been in the past 15 years. But Scotland did not appear to feel the 2023 downturn to the same extent as the rest of the UK. A key reason for this can be attributed to deals driven by Scottish SMEs, which form a…
We may be entering what feels like a period of hybrid working settlement after years of deliberating how a post-covid workplace should look like. Many businesses seem to have figured out a working arrangement that suits their employees. Nonetheless, 90% of companies with office space are still expected to return to the office in 2024 powered by hopes of improving productivity and increasing revenue. Dan Lawyer, Chief Product Officer at Lucid Software explores five takeaways from the past year of hybrid working that should be carried over into the New Year, But returning to the office shouldn’t mean reverting back to…
New research from Mental Health First Aid England, released to mark My Whole Self Day (12 March 2024) reveals almost 1 in 3 employees (31%) have experienced at least one form of microaggression or discriminatory behaviour from their manager in the past six months. My Whole Self is the campaign for workplace culture change, led by MHFA England. The social enterprise is calling on employers to create cultures where people feel safe to bring their whole self to work to drive improvements in mental health and performance. This research shows there’s a long way to go. The findings, among 2,000 employees,…
The European Parliament’s new proposal for regulation of packaging waste has been unveiled. The new Directive would ban single-use plastics packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables, mini hotel toiletries, and fast-food restaurants. For Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony Environmental, a world leader in environmentally friendly packaging and advanced polymer technology, this ban is not the way to tackle the problem, instead it will cause more damage not only to the environment but also to businesses and the economy, and human health. “There is currently a paranoia around plastics”, says Laurier. “Plastiphobia arose due to a core problem with degradation, because regular plastics can create microplastics…