Bouncing back from the Covid-19 crisis: reflections on mental health and resilience Firms that survive adversity often have the abilities, characteristics and actions of their employees to thank. As many reflected during Mental Health Awareness Week last week, it is worth remembering that the current crisis will undoubtedly have impacted upon the mental health of… Read more
A new report funded through the Midlands Engine Mental Health and Productivity Pilot (MHPP) finds that firms impacted by mental health sickness absence suffered a 25% hit to their productivity Bosses surveyed cited remote working and job insecurity as risk factors – but many unsure where to turn for advice on boosting staff wellbeing… Read more
Professor Mark Hart, Deputy director of the ERC whose research shows many self-employed are slipping through the safety net joined the BackinBusiness team for this podcast alongside two self-employed people to discuss the impact of the lockdown on their businesses, Government loans and disappearing customers which are all of concern at this time. Listen to… Read more
The ERC are pleased to announce that they are partners in a new National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE), which is to be launched on 1st September this year, funded by Research England. The new Centre will support enterprise, resilience and innovation among rural firms and aim to unlock the untapped potential of rural… Read more
It seems increasingly clear that the economic impacts of COVID-19 will be startlingly sharp for the UK and other world economies. The great unknown at present is whether the historic quarterly contraction we’re expecting to see in Q2 of 2020 is followed by a rebound, or a deep and painful recession. What’s also difficult to… Read more
Over the last decade, the landscape of SME finance has changed dramatically. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, while traditional bank lending experienced a sluggish recovery, a new model of online marketplace (P2P) business lending emerged. Funding Circle, started in 2010, was the world’s first P2P platform to fund business loans and seemed to… Read more
News release: 20 April 2020 New data shows a spike in limited companies going out of business – coupled with a big decline in new starts – has hit all regions and sectors since the start of March New data suggests the UK economy is facing a worrying “pincer movement” due to the coronavirus pandemic,… Read more
The Government’s various coronavirus support schemes aim to provide a safety net for both employees and the self-employed during the suddenly-imposed ‘lockdown’ period now affecting the UK economy. But while the headline measures announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak over recent weeks – including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) aimed at employees, Coronavirus Business Interruption… Read more
