Your Local Information Microportal

1. How to handle tough conversations. Do you need to deliver negative feedback to a colleague, performance manage an employee or relay bad news to a client? The trick to it is all in the timing. READ MORE

2. Sunak plans pensions grab. The Treasury plans a pensions tax raid to help pay for public spending during the Covid pandemic. A trio of changes to how pension contributions are taxed is being considered, including reducing the pensions lifetime allowance from a little above £1m to £800,000 or £900,000, lowering the point above which extra tax charges are applied. “Our job is to keep people out of poverty, not to enrich the middle classes,” said a senior government source. The Daily Telegraph

3. UK traffic exceeds pre-Covid levels. Traffic on British roads is now heavier than before the Covid pandemic due to a reluctance to use public transport and a sharp rise in internet shopping. Weekday traffic has reached 104% of pre-pandemic levels. On weekends traffic is even busier - on Sunday June 6, it reached 113% of the pre-pandemic level. Transport Technology Forum said that vans and trucks account for a greater proportion of journeys than before the pandemic, reflecting the rise in the delivery of shopping. The Evening Standard

4. Thinktank says inflation will hit 4%. The Resolution Foundation says the government should prepare for a jump in inflation this year that will eat into household living standards and force more low-income families into poverty. The thinktank says inflation could rise above 4% in the next few months as the economy opens up and consumers begin to spend some of the savings they have built up. Figures released last week showed the CPI measure of inflation rose to 2.1%. The Guardian

5. Let’s lose sight of the dream job. Not to be a bubble-burster, but what if we told you your dream job doesn't exist? We need to let go of the expectation, or fantasy, that we will find fulfilment through our work. This can put undue pressure on young people, particularly recent graduates, who have grown increasingly "disillusioned" by the concept of a "dream job." There are other ways to establish our self-worth and it's good to give people space and flexibility so they can figure out what it is they want to do, both in and out of work. Your work does not have to define you, many other areas of your life can do that too. This piece of advice is taken from my weekly motivational talks to school year-groups. Editor

6. Exports to EU hit by Brexit. Food and drink exports to the EU almost halved in the first three months of the year, the Food and Drink Federation reports. The group’s data showed that EU sales dropped by 47% compared to the same period in 2020. Covid is likely to have had an impact but the trade body said the decline was largely due to changes in the UK’s trading relationships with the bloc. The government said it was “too early to draw any firm conclusions” on the long-term impact of Brexit. The Independent

7. 4-day week, meet 5-hour day. If we polled a large portion of the working populace on whether they preferred an 8-hour workday or a 5-hour workday, we're confident we could predict the results. But what if we told you a 5-hour workday had some benefits, including productivity? The five-hour days may be a better option to the four-day workweek. The time constraint of the shorter workday forces people to think creatively on how to get jobs done with more efficiency. Not only that, five hours is about the limit we can focus on one task, without our mind and focus waning. Editor

9. House prices hit record high. Asking prices for houses have hit record levels across every part of Great Britain, according to data from Rightmove, a property listings website. The average price of properties coming to market rose by 0.8% month-on-month in June, reaching a third consecutive record of £336,073. However, experts say much of the “pent-up” demand in the market has “now been met” and the “phasing out of stamp duty reliefs has also taken away some of the urgency to move”. The Daily Mail

8. Is working from home a legal right? Should employers be made to prove having staff in the office is essential, with the right to flexible working enshrined in law? Several UK publications reported that ministers were considering creating a legal right to work from home – and while the government has now denied it will legislate on the issue, the idea has grabbed our attention. Have your say in our poll. VOTE HERE

10. The bottom line. A poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations revels that 62% of French people believe the EU’s political system is broken, along with 55% of Germans, 57% of Italians and 52% of Spaniards. 36% of Germans believe it is working, down from more than 50% seven months ago. The Times