The Island Spa at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa is planning a series of events with some of the wellness world’s most sought-after practitioners. Between October and December, the all-suite island – known for its well-being offerings – will welcome four leaders in the wellness industry to host a series of exclusive programmes for guests.
Called The Island Spa’s Visiting Masters programme, the four “masters” in question include Dr. Vikas Sharma, Rashdy Ahmad, Robin Sharma, and Raaj Nair.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Meta has fired about two dozen staff in Los Angeles for using their $25 meal credits to buy household items including acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent.
The terminations took place last week, just days before the $1.5tn social media company separately began restructuring certain teams across WhatsApp, Instagram and Reality Labs, its augmented and virtual reality arm, on Tuesday.
Advertisement
The revamp has included cutting some staff and relocating others, several people familiar with the decisions said, in a sign that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s recent efficiency drive is still under way.
Like most Big Tech companies, Meta offers free food to employees based out of its sprawling Silicon Valley headquarters as a perk. Staff based in smaller offices without a cafeteria are offered Uber Eats or Grubhub credits, for example, for food to be delivered to the office.
Staff are given daily allowances of $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner, with meal credits issued in $25 increments.
Those who were fired were deemed to have abused the food credit system over a long period of time, said one person familiar with the matter. Some had been pooling their money together, they said, while others were getting meals sent home even though the credits are intended for the office.
Advertisement
Those who only violated the company rules on occasion were reprimanded but not terminated, the person added.
In one post on anonymous messaging platform Blind, seen by the Financial Times, one former Meta staffer wrote they had used $25 credits on items such as toothpaste and tea from the pharmacy Rite Aid, adding: “On days where I would not be eating at the office, like if my husband was cooking or if I was grabbing dinner with friends, I figured I ought not to waste the dinner credit.”
The person, who indicated they had a salary of about $400,000 at Meta and worked “nights [and] weekends”, wrote they had admitted to the oversight when human resources investigated the practice, before later being unexpectedly fired. “It was almost surreal that this was happening,” the person wrote.
Meta declined to comment on the firings.
Advertisement
However, the company said of the wider lay-offs: “Today, a few teams at Meta are making changes to ensure resources are aligned with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy.”
It added: “This includes moving some teams to different locations, and moving some employees to different roles. In situations like this when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees.”
Zuckerberg announced about 21,000 job cuts in two rounds of lay-offs in 2022 and 2023, dubbing the latter a “year of efficiency”.
Advertisement
He also cancelled low-priority projects in an attempt to boost sluggish growth and alleviate investor concern over his costly bet on the metaverse.
Wall Street has welcomed the cuts together with a renewed focus on artificial intelligence. The company’s shares are now trading around all-time highs of $577 each.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has adopted a ‘click to cancel’ rule, which aims to make it easier for people to end subscriptions.
It will force companies to make subscribing and cancelling subscriptions equally straightforward.
Businesses, including retailers and gyms, will also have to get consent from customers before renewing subscriptions or converting free trials into paid memberships.
The new rule is due to come into effect in around six months time.
Advertisement
“Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” said FTC chair Lina Khan.
“The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.”
Under the new rule, businesses will be banned from forcing customers to go though a chatbot or an agent to cancel subscriptions that were originally signed up to using an app or website
For memberships that customers signed up to in person, businesses will have to offer the option to terminate them by calling by phone or online.
The lawsuit accused the firm of tricking customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions that renewed automatically and made it difficult for people to cancel.
It also said Amazon’s website designs pushed customers into agreeing to enrol in Prime and have the subscription automatically renewed as they were making purchases.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Companies have “paused” any rise in their advertising spending in the UK ahead of the Budget, as they brace for the risk that higher personal taxes will sap consumers’ purchasing power, according to an industry trade body.
Marketing budgets have flatlined for the first time since the pandemic as executive confidence drops, the IPA, which represents media and advertising agencies, said on Thursday. The period between July and September was the first time in 14 quarters that total marketing budgets failed to grow, it found.
Advertisement
“Negative hype surrounding the impending Budget has no doubt created choppy waters for UK companies and their marketers to navigate,” said IPA director-general Paul Bainsfair.
“This quarter’s results reveal that companies aren’t cutting their marketing budgets; they are pressing pause until they know more about the government’s economic plans.”
The quarterly IPA Bellwether Report reveals UK companies’ marketing spend intentions and confidence levels, an economic indicator given companies tend to spend more on marketing when optimistic or when the economy is growing.
The third quarter findings show that the percentage of UK businesses increasing their marketing budgets — 21.6 per cent — was exactly the same as those cutting them. In the second quarter of the year, the difference between businesses raising and cutting budgets was 15.9 per cent.
Advertisement
The IPA Bellwether Report is based on responses from 300 UK-based companies about their marketing activities. The IPA represents about 270 agencies in the UK.
The IPA also said that it was “a significant shift in behaviour from the robust growth observed over the previous 13 quarters”. Attitudes towards their own companies’ and their industry’s prospects turned negative after about two years of optimism, its research found.
The IPA said that better economic growth forecasts for 2024 were tempered by higher prices, the elevated cost of borrowing and prospects for an increase in personal taxation for many UK households.
Fergus McCallum, chief executive of Manchester-based advertising agency TBWAMCR, said that “having won a clear mandate to govern without fear of electoral challenge, the new government now finds themselves actively trying to be both the party for ‘working people’ and the party for business”.
He added: “We’re yet to see how they can manage that tricky balancing act but it’s already causing uncertainty as can be seen in the latest Bellwether Report — a set of numbers clearly suggesting a ‘let’s wait and see’ attitude from business.”
Within the total, there were some positive areas, with spending increasing on public relations, events and direct marketing.
Richard Exon, founder of advertising agency Joint, said: “The advertising industry knows the pressure that falls on it from jittery brands. The real proof of the long-term impact will come in the next [report] but for the time being it’s more of a hesitation than a decline in spend.”
Three crucial DWP deadlines are coming up that could be worth £460Credit: Getty
Luckily, there is help at hand, including the Winter Fuel Payment, Warm Home Discount and Christmas Bonus.
Advertisement
But there are some crucial deadlines you need to be aware of if you want to snap up the payments worth potentially £460.
One is coming within weeks too so you should act as soon as possible.
November 10 – deadline to backdate Pension Credit to get the Warm Homes Discount
The Warm Homes Discount (WHD) is a discount on your energy bills worth £150 each winter.
The money is not paid to you but is a one-off deduction applied between October and March.
Advertisement
In most cases, it is made automatically although households in Scotland have to apply.
To qualify for the help, you need to have been in receipt of the guaranteed credit element of Pension Credit or a different qualifying benefit from the list below on August 11:
If you weren’t claiming any of the above benefits on August 11, 2024, you won’t be eligible for the WHD this year.
However, the same August date does not apply if you are receiving the guarantee credit element of Pension Credit.
Advertisement
Winter Fuel Payment Changes
This is because you can backdate a Pension Credit claim by up to three months while the other benefits in the list above can only be backdated by up to one month.
That means you have until the end of Sunday, November 10 to launch a claim and get the £150 rebate.
Pension Credit is a benefit that tops up your weekly income to a minimum amount if you are on a low income and of state pension age, currently 66.
There are two parts to the benefit – Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit.
Advertisement
Guarantee Credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you are single or your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner.
Savings Credit is extra money you get if you have some savings or your income is above the basic full state pension amount – £169.50.
December 2 – deadline for Christmas Bonus
The Christmas bonus is a tax-free £10 payment made once per year to cover some of the additional costs associated with Christmas.
The payment is made by the DWP before December 25 and can come in handy.
Advertisement
However, the £10 payment is only made to those in receipt of certain qualifying benefits. The full list of benefits is:
Adult Disability Payment
Armed Forces Independence Payment
Attendance Allowance
Carer’s Allowance
Carer Support Payment
Child Disability Payment
Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
Disability Living Allowance
Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
Mobility Supplement
Pension Credit – the guarantee element
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under
Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
War Widow’s Pension
Widowed Mother’s Allowance
Widowed Parent’s Allowance
Widow’s Pension
You will need to have been receiving one of the above benefits in the qualifying week to receive the £10 payment.
This year, that week is the first full week of December, which starts on December 2, so you will need to claim one of the above benefits by this date to qualify for the £10 Christmas Bonus.
If you want to find out if you qualify for one of the above benefits, you can use a number of free calculators.
The three main online calculators you can use are:
Advertisement
December 21 – deadline for backdated Pension Credit to get the Winter Fuel Payment
The Government has made the Winter Fuel Payment means-tested which means only those on certain benefits qualify for the up to £300 payment this year.
Rather than it being open to anyone of state pension age, you now only receive it if you were receiving Pension Credit or one of the below benefits by September 22:
However, again, you can backdate your Pension Credit claim by up to three months meaning you still have time to qualify for this year’s Winter Fuel Payment.
That means the ultimate deadline to qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment is December 21, not September 22.
Advertisement
The Winter Fuel Payment, which is usually paid by Christmas, is worth up to £300 depending on your circumstances.
If you were born before September 23, 1944, you will get £300 while those born between September 23, 1944, and September 22, 1958, will receive £200.
Crucial to claim Pension Credit if you can
HUNDREDS of thousands of pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit.
Advertisement
The Sun’s Assistant Consumer Editor Lana Clements explains why it’s imperative to apply for the benefit..
Pension Credit is designed to top up the income of the UK’s poorest pensioners.
In itself the payment is a vital lifeline for older people with little income.
It will take weekly income up to to £218.15 if you’re single or joint income to £332.95.
Advertisement
Yet, an estimated 800,000 don’t claim this support. Not only are they missing on this cash, but far more extra support that is unlocked when claiming Pension Credit.
With the winter fuel payment – worth up to £300 now being restricted to pensioners claiming Pension Credit – it’s more important than ever to claim the benefit if you can.
All this extra support can make a huge difference to the quality of life for a struggling pensioner.
Advertisement
It’s not difficult to apply for Pension Credit, you can do it up to four months before you reach state pension age through the government website or by calling 0800 99 1234.
You’ll just need your National Insurance number, as well as information about income, savings and investments.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login