News Guides

The £1bn Reprieve: Scotch Whisky’s Tariff War, Charted from the Official Data

US tariffs on Scotch hit zero from 24 July, weeks after India halved the world’s highest whisky wall. What seven years of tariff whiplash cost - visible in the production data - and what comes back now.

25 Jul 2026 · 7 min read

The Eight-Hour PlayStation Outage: What Broke, and What Subscribers Are Owed

Every PSN service down for ~8 hours, an AWS link, and a 5-free-days precedent from 2025 - plus the digital-only question it reopens.

25 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

France Wildfires: Your Refund and Insurance Rights if Your Holiday Is in the Fire Zone

44,000 evacuated from the Gironde coast at peak British holiday season - your rights by booking type, and why you should never cancel first.

25 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Mortgage Rates Are Falling Before the Bank Even Moves: What Was Cut and Whether to Fix

Nationwide’s third cut in a month takes five-year fixes to 4.37% - and it’s lender competition, not the Bank, doing the work.

25 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

What Britain Still Makes: The Factory Data, Charted

We processed all 1,982 product lines in the official factory-sales data. Food is now Britain’s biggest manufacturing business, petrol cars crashed 23% in a year, and the fastest-growing line is military weapons.

24 Jul 2026 · 8 min read

Who Pollutes Britain? Every Major Emitter, Named and Charted

We processed all 5,802 reports in the official UK pollution register. One power station emits a tonne in every eight, a Welsh coal mine out-gasses every landfill, and Thames Water tops the water table.

24 Jul 2026 · 13 min read

UK Carbon Footprint Tracker: The Official Numbers in Plain English

The UK causes 699 million tonnes of emissions a year - 10 tonnes per person, and more than half of it happens abroad. Defra’s official carbon footprint statistics, translated.

24 Jul 2026 · 5 min read

UK Puts £7.3m Into Hydrogen and Electric Flight: All 8 Winning Projects

£7.3 million to 8 projects building hydrogen refuelling and electric charging at UK airports - part of a £43m green aviation package, with flying taxi services targeted for 2029.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

UK Bank Holidays: Every Date for England, Scotland and NI

Every UK bank holiday from 2026 to 2028 for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, from the official GOV.UK register - with the pay rules behind the dates.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Agricultural Sick Pay: Who Still Holds It and What It Pays

The legacy enhancement above SSP: pre-2013 protected terms, the Welsh Order, and why day-one SSP now matters more for seasonal labour.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Agricultural Worker Holiday Entitlement: Three Nations, Two Eras

The 2013 split that still decides farm holiday rights: protected pre-2013 terms, the Welsh Order, and the seasonal picker calculation.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Medical Suspensions From Work: Full Pay While Barred From Your Job

Full pay, not sick pay, while healthy but barred from your job - and the uncapped pregnancy suspension sequence employers skip.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Time Off for Public Duties and Jury Service: Two Different Regimes

The public duties list, what reasonable means, and the jury service money mechanics - allowances, certificates and the one deferral ask.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Time Off for Training: What the Statutory Right Actually Gives You

A right to ask, not to receive: the 250-employee threshold, the refusal grounds, and the apprenticeship-levy angle with real leverage.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Career Breaks: The Two Structures and the Terms That Matter

Leave of absence or resign-and-rehire: the structure decides your service, pension and return - and the statutory leave to stack first.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Travel Disruption and Work: Snow Days, Strikes and Your Pay

Snow, strikes and stranded commutes: when absence is unpaid, when full pay is due, and the school-closure rule that changes everything.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Bank Holidays: Your Pay and Time-Off Rights, Decided by One Clause

Including versus plus: the one contract clause that decides your bank holiday rights, and the part-timer Monday problem.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave: The New 52-Week Right

In force April 2026: up to 52 weeks from day one where the primary carer dies, one continuous block, and the crisis-built notice rules.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay: The Rules Under Jack’s Law

Two weeks from day one under Jack’s Law: the 56-week window, split blocks, £194.32 pay, and who qualifies including kinship carers.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Your Rights While on Parental Leave: What Continues and What Pauses

What keeps running during family leave: full holiday accrual, the pension asymmetry in your favour, and the 18-month redundancy shield.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Unpaid Parental Leave: The 18-Week Pot Nobody Uses

18 weeks per child, now from day one: the notice maths, the postponement rule, and the summer-holidays play most parents never use.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Adoption Pay and Leave: The Rules and the Primary Adopter Choice

52 weeks from day one, 39 weeks of pay, and the primary-adopter choice that decides how much enhanced pay the household captures.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Paternity Leave and Pay: The New Day-One Right

Day-one paternity leave from April 2026, two splittable weeks in the first year, and why the pay tests create a two-tier system.

23 Jul 2026 · 4 min read

Maternity Allowance: Who Qualifies and How to Get the Full Rate

The SMP safety net: the 26-of-66 work test, the £30 earnings test, and the Class 2 top-up that turns £27 a week into £194.32.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Maternity Pay and Leave: The Two Systems, Explained Properly

52 weeks of leave from day one, 39 weeks of pay with two tests, the pay-rise reference window, and 18 months of redundancy protection.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Holiday Entitlement Calculator: The Working for Every Pattern

Days × 5.6, hours × 5.6, or 12.07%: the actual arithmetic behind holiday entitlement, with starter, leaver and compressed-hours examples.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Holiday Entitlement: Your Rights to 5.6 Weeks of Paid Leave

The 5.6-week statutory floor for every work pattern, the bank holiday contract trap, carry-over rules and the 12.07% method.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Taking Sick Leave: The Rules on Reporting, Fit Notes and Your Rights

The 7-day self-certification rule, fit notes, what employers can do while you are off, and the sickness-holiday overlap most get wrong.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Statutory Sick Pay Explained: The New Day-One Rules

SSP is now a day-one right with no earnings limit: the £123.25 rate, the 80% rule for lower earners, and the transitional traps.

23 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Shared Parental Leave, Explained: Eligibility, Pay and the Arithmetic

Split up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay at £194.32: the two tests, the curtailment mechanic, and the booking rules in one place.

23 Jul 2026 · 4 min read