Job vacancies fall, packaging fees for businesses are updated, and more cars now included in the Electric Car Grant
Today we take a look at the UK labour market statistics, how businesses will be affected by the fees for packaging their products, and how the Electric Car Grant is set to include a wider choice of vehicles.
UK Labour Market Shows Gradual Cooling
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that the UK labour market is continuing to ease, although the slowdown remains measured rather than abrupt.
Vacancies fell by 5.8% to 718,000 in the three months to July 2025, the lowest level since April 2021 when the economy was still affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Outside of the pandemic period, vacancy numbers have not been this low since early 2015. The fall was broad-based across sectors, with hospitality and retail seeing the largest reductions.
Payroll data showed 8,000 fewer people in employment between June and July. However, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.7% and redundancy notifications in July were relatively subdued, suggesting a gradual cooling rather than a sharp deterioration.
Former Bank of England policymaker Andrew Sentence noted that with more than 30 million people currently on payrolls, recent changes represent a modest proportion of the workforce. Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics, suggested that the modest fall in payrolls indicates that the impact of recent increases in employers’ national insurance and the minimum wage is beginning to settle.
Political reactions to the data were divided. Chancellor Rachel Reeves described elements of the figures as positive but acknowledged the need to further reduce unemployment, which remains at a four-year high. Opposition parties criticised the government’s approach, citing higher taxes and increased regulation as barriers to job creation.
Looking ahead, analysts suggest that the decline in vacancies could contribute to slower wage growth, currently steady at 5%. This is one of the indicators the Bank of England considers as it assesses inflationary pressures when setting the Bank’s base rate. Therefore, wage growth slowing could lead to further interest rate cuts.
In summary, the data suggests that there’s a measured cooling of the labour market, with employers showing greater caution in recruitment.
See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdjjp681p7o
PackUK Confirms 2025 Packaging Fees and Sets Out Three-Year Recyclability Plan
If your business sells goods in packaging – whether that’s cardboard boxes, bottles, jars or plastic wrap – there’s an important update you should know about.
PackUK (the body running the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, or pEPR scheme) has confirmed the 2025 base fees for the scheme. It has also set out a new three-year plan for how fees will change from 2026, depending on how recyclable your packaging is.
Let’s break down what this means.
What is pEPR?
pEPR is a government scheme where the businesses that make or use packaging (called “producers”) help pay for the cost of collecting and recycling it. The more packaging you put on the market, and the harder it is to recycle, the more you pay.
2025 Fees Confirmed
The 2025 fees published by PackUK will be used for the first invoices in October 2025.
The good news is that most fees are less than was indicated last December. For example, glass is down by about 20%.
How Fees Are Worked Out
For 2025, fees are based on:
- The packaging tonnage reported by producers for 2024’
- Local authority waste management costs.
What’s Changing From 2026?
From the 2026–27 year onwards, fees will be adjusted depending on how recyclable your packaging is.
In short:
- Green-rated (highly recyclable) packaging = steadily decreasing fees.
- Red-rated (poorly recyclable) packaging = progressively higher fees.
- Medical packaging gets some exceptions due to safety rules.
The difference isn’t small – red-rated packaging could cost you double by 2028–29 compared to now. This gives businesses a financial reason to switch to greener options.
Why This Matters
Even if you’re not producing huge amounts of packaging, these rules may still affect your costs – and your customers may ask more questions about your sustainability practices. So, it may be a good time to:
- Review what packaging you use.
- Check how recyclable it is.
- Start planning any changes before the higher fees kick in.
For more details, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging-announcements#full-publication-update-history
Online Marketplaces Will Now Contribute to Electrical Waste Recycling
New regulations have come into force that require online marketplaces – such as those hosting overseas sellers – to bear their share of the costs for managing and recycling waste electrical items like washing machines, radios and vacuum cleaners. Until now, UK-based firms had carried the financial burden of disposal and recycling, putting them at a disadvantage compared to foreign competitors operating on these platforms.
Under the new system, these platforms must register with the Environment Agency and report data on sales made by their overseas sellers in the UK to determine their financial contributions. The resulting funds are intended to support local waste collection services, recycling infrastructure, and the broader shift toward a circular economy.
A noteworthy element of the new requirements is the introduction of a dedicated electrical waste category for vapes, recognising their unique waste profile and ensuring that producers cover disposal and recycling costs.
Electric Car Grant Expanded: More Car Models Now Included
The government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG) is now up and running, with more vehicle models eligible for discounts. Initially launched in July, the £650 million scheme offers savings on new electric cars priced at or below £37,000. The discount is either £3,750 or £1,500, depending on the vehicle’s sustainability and is applied directly at the point of sale, with no paperwork required from customers.
The grant aims to make electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable by reducing the upfront purchase price and narrowing the cost gap with petrol and diesel models. This is part of the government’s broader commitment to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
From 9 August 2025, the scheme was expanded to include thirteen more EVs, bringing the total to seventeen models. Brands now on the list include Nissan, Renault, Vauxhall and Citroën, with more expected in the coming weeks as manufacturers’ applications are approved.
Alongside the £650 million in grant funding, the government is investing £4.5 billion to accelerate EV adoption, with Britain already the largest EV market in Europe in 2024 and sales up by almost a third this year.
Tax Advantages of Electric Company Cars
Despite the grant, electric cars are still generally more expensive than petrol or diesel cars. However, for businesses and employees, EVs can also be worth considering because of the tax savings they bring when provided as a company car.
- Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) rates for fully electric company cars are currently much lower than for petrol or diesel vehicles. For 2025/26, the BIK rate for zero-emission cars is 3% of the car’s list price, compared to rates often exceeding 20% for conventional vehicles.
- Employers may also benefit from capital allowances – in some cases, qualifying new zero-emission cars can attract a 100% first-year allowance, meaning the full cost of the vehicle can be written off against taxable profits in the year of purchase.
- There are further potential savings on Class 1A National Insurance contributions for employers, as these are based on the BIK value.
If you would like help assessing whether an electric car purchase would benefit you or your business, please give us a call. We would be happy to help you!