…in brief

This
week’s news in brief

Downturn
ends

The
seven-year downturn in the manufacturing industry is over, according to the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The organisation’s quarterly
industrial trends survey showed the strongest growth in total orders for more
than seven years, as well as the largest growth in output for eight years.  www.cbi.org.uk

Unaware
of changes

Proposed
changes to employment regulations around age are likely to come as a big
surprise to UK businesses, according to new research from Manpower. The survey
found that 61 per cent of employers were either unaware, or doing nothing to
prepare for the impact of the changes that prevent employers setting retirement
ages for staff and remove the upper age limit for statutory redundancy pay.  www.manpower.co.uk

Promoting
jobs

A
new partnership to promote job opportunities for disabled and disadvantaged
people across the UK has been launched. The partnership, between Barclays and
national charity, the Shaw Trust, will allow people to take advantage of
short-term job placements with the bank, which could then lead to a permanent
jobs.  www.shaw-trust.org.uk

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Retail
constables

Employers
are hoping to stem the rising tide of retail crime by training shop workers as
special constables. Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police commissioner,
said that staff would be trained by his officers and released from work for a
day to work with local police. Retail employers will still pay their wages.  www.specialconstables.gov.uk