For people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, the flu can be deadly. The flu jab was associated with a 50% reduction in mortality during flu season for people living with type 2 diabetes, according to research carried out over a seven-year period .

For people with heart and circulatory diseases, having the flu vaccine cuts the risk of a heart attack by 27% and of dying by 25% . Data shows that in the winter of 2019/20, there were around 6,600 excess deaths from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK, with flu likely to be a contributing factor .

To help more people access the vaccination, Tesco Pharmacy is operating an online booking system so customers can book a slot at a time that suits them. With longer opening hours than many GP surgeries and high-street pharmacies, customers can get vaccinated at a time that fits around their schedule including evenings and weekends or even combine it with their weekly shop.

The flu jab can be booked online now and is available in Tesco Pharmacy stores from September. It’s free for groups that are eligible for a free NHS flu jab, and is available for £9 for those who are not.

The safety of colleagues and customers remains Tesco’s number one priority and there are extensive Covid-19 safety and social distancing measures in place to ensure that customers feel safe while using this service. The flu jab will be given by a Tesco Pharmacist in a private consultation room that is cleaned before each appointment.

The post Tesco Launch Campaign To boost uptake of flu jab and help save lives appeared first on Financial Mark.

Twitter has denied these accounts verification status without explanation, even though most of their counterparts are verified. It’s unknown if Twitter will rectify this or make a new form for publications themselves that will let them prove their standards. In some ways, this may be a way to control which publications get attention or which Twitter feels do not have the funding to be verified, even though their journalistic standards are higher. The reason is simply unclear. Clash and Our Culture, both have coverage on the internet, and both have stated that they submitted valid documentation that gives zero reasons for Twitter not to verify.

Will Twitter verify these profiles?

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Earlier this year, the second phase of the Community Cookery School was launched to help train community cooks to deliver relevant and practical cooking skills to local families. Easy recipes like veggie chilli, tinned salmon fishcakes with veggie slaw, and veggie soup with eggy muffins prompted more vegetables into everyday scratch meals.
Because of pandemic restrictions, the virtual lessons were streamed online from February to May, with the lectures developed and delivered by Jamie Oliver-trained community cooks and nutritionists.

The courses included knife skills and fundamental nutrition and offered recipes adapted to complement a wide variety of foods typically donated to food banks.
Oonagh Turnbull, Tesco Head of Health Campaigns, said: “We’re so proud to have provided food education, inspiration and support to vulnerable families across the UK over the last few months. The past year has highlighted the need to focus on nutrition, and it’s great to have played a part in supporting healthier communities.”

The cookery school initiative began in 2019 to equip 1,000 community cooks to make meals with food typically donated by Tesco while avoiding food waste – an objective completed by January 2020.

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In the wake of thousands of wedding plans being thrown into complete disarray, couples have been prompted to re-evaluate what’s important in their relationships. Research from Halifax shows 18-44-year-olds are choosing to buy their first home over big weddings.

From an impressive list of family and friends to a stunning cake and a bespoke venue dress, the average cost of getting married can be eye-watering, with couples spending, on average, £18,000 — now that’s something for accounting. In comparison to a £50,000 house deposit, an extravagant wedding represents a substantial financial commitment for couples hoping to get on the first rung of the property ladder, devoting over a third of the funds required to own a home. Moreoover, people are looking into Financial Freedom 101 – Steps to Achieve Financial Freedom to further help with money.

A bigger priority

Now, nearly two-thirds (64%) say owning a home is more important than getting married. Due to the pandemic, three in ten (29%) engaged couples cancelled their weddings. More than three in five (62%) have already reallocated their wedding budget to a house deposit, or are considering doing so. In addition to the financial accomplishment of getting on the property ladder, home-buying is a significant relationship milestone, with nearly half (47%) saying that mortgage is more effective than marriage. However, not all banks are willing to see you as a customer. And, we all know that wealth is key, here is why it’s worth reading a Wealthify review to find out more about potential investment ISA’s.

Despite marriage being viewed as a more significant cause for celebration, only three out of ten (29%) think it is money well spent, compared to two-thirds (63%) who say the same about finally owning their own home. This is why professional bookkeeping solutions are key in relationships and business. The study found that people are much less likely to celebrate homeownership than to identify a wedding with their loved ones, with just two out of five (41%) saying they would.

Investing into your future is important, and thus it’s essential to read up investing company reviews before you get pushing for a better future.

The post Money: Couples in the U.K are Choosing First Homes over Overly-expensive Weddings appeared first on Financial Mark.

Argos

Argos is planning to release a flurry of PS5 consoles at 1 AM on the 18th of June. According to rumours, this will be available on the official Argos app, available for download on the app store.

Smyths Toys

A few PS5 consoles will also be made available on Smyths’ platform. The date has not been determined based on any valid information. However, their site does state that they will be released during June.

What are my best chances?

According to some expert buys, getting the more expensive bundles will increase your chances of receiving a PS5. In part, this is due to their price, since people do not wish to pay more for the console than it is worth.

The post Playstation 5 to Drop on Argos appeared first on Financial Mark.

In order to encourage customers to participate in the refill process, the supermarket intends to test new refill configurations in stores, partner with more household brands, and engage with consumers across the country.

The initiatives announced today includes:

• Four additional refill stores all featuring an increased range of new core products and partnerships with some of the UKs most popular household brands including Yorkshire Tea, an increased range of Kellogg’s cereals, new own-label and Nestle cereals, Napolina pasta, and Tilda rice alongside new ‘prefilled’ trials of Radox and Persil.
• The largest refill store to date will open at York in October with 18 standalone bays featuring over 70 branded and own-label products in refillable format with brand new product types including dried Mars pet food such as Whiskas and Pedigree and additional ranges of snacking, desserts and baking products.
• A nine bay standalone refill fixture in the Milton Keynes store launching in December, featuring branded and own-label cereals, pasta, rice, tea, coffee, snacking, desserts and baking products. The store will also sell refillable pet food, laundry and toiletry products within specific aisles.
• Asda’s first refill offer in Scotland at the Glasgow Toryglen store in August, featuring cereals, rice, pasta, tea, coffee, toiletry and laundry products sold in specific aisles.
• Branded and own-label tea, coffee, cereals, rice, pasta, laundry and toiletries launching in specific aisles at the Rugby store in August.
• All four stores will feature Persil, Radox, Simple and Alberto Balsam products from Unilever in stainless steel reusable bottles. These will be tested in two refill formats; refill on the go where shoppers can refill their bottle using a machine in-store and, in a global first for Unilever and Asda, return on the go where shoppers can pick up pre-filled bottles off the shelf and return them in-store once used.

Susan Thomas, Director of Commercial Sustainability at Asda said: “We know that reducing packaging waste matters to our customers and they have embraced the refill options available at the Middleton store, with many of the products available already exceeding expectations.

“Our ultimate goal is to make refill and reuse a part of every Asda shopping trip and to achieve this we have to make it easy, accessible and affordable for all our customers to shop this way. Middleton was a great introduction to how customers engage with refill products and we are now looking to accelerate these learnings by trialling different refill options in more stores to understand which aspects can potentially developed further.”

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The platform will launch after the success Our Culture had with its sustainable fashion series which reached over 100,000 readers in the U.K alone.

Talking about the platform, Mankus stated: “The platform will be free for everyone and will encourage people to shop for more sustainable and ethical fashion. Its core purpose will be to educate people. With this platform, we will partner with like-minded charities and companies that share the same goal.”

The post Modestas Mankus to Launch a Sustainable Fashion Education Platform appeared first on Financial Mark.

These commitments are part of a new package of support for Partners (employees), who jointly co-own the business, as well as the launch of a pilot programme to provide career assistance for young people leaving the care system.

Informed by feedback from Partners who shared what mattered most to them, these commitments support our vision to become the UK’s most inclusive business for our Partners and customers, reflecting and connecting with the diverse communities we serve.

Equality is a founding principle of the Partnership, which was formed almost 100 years ago and supported through our unique employee-owned business structure and written Constitution. These new commitments are a stride forward in redefining our responsibility to this principle and what it means to our Partners in today’s society.

Support announced today, which forms part of our Partnership Plan, includes:

• Equal parental pay and leave: From this autumn, all Partners and regardless of how they have become a parent, will receive 26 weeks paid leave (14 weeks at full contractual pay and 12 weeks at 50% contractual pay) once they have worked for the Partnership for one year. Studies show that sharing childcare can be good for gender equality and reducing the gender pay gap¹, yet being able to afford to take time off remains a barrier – particularly for low income families².
• Pregnancy loss support: Any Partner who experiences the loss of a pregnancy will be entitled to take two weeks’ paid leave. Like all Partners, they will also have access to emotional support through the Partnership’s free counselling and mental health services.
• Flexible First commitment: All job vacancies will be advertised with a flexible working option, unless there is an operational reason why this is not possible. A ‘blended’ working approach for office-based Partners also begins this month, providing Partners with choice and flexibility with where and how they work.
• Part-time working: Through our internal Part-Time Advisory Group, we’ve identified more ways to support part-time Partners to help them progress in our business. This includes changes to our flexible working policy and reviewing our recruitment processes.
• Supporting young people leaving the care system: This month we are starting a pilot programme with Essex County Council to help young people aged 18 to 24 leaving the care system into employment. We will help identify job opportunities via our current job vacancies and provide support including coaching and mentoring and interview practice in the run up. We will also continue with ongoing coaching and mentoring once a role has been secured.
• Supporting ethnic minorities: Inspired by work achieved by our internal Black Partner Advisory Group over the last 12 months, we will expand our reverse mentoring scheme, where ethnic minority Partners from across the Partnership mentor senior leaders. To cater for a broader range of customers, we will continue adding new products online and in our shops. Hosiery from Sheer Chemistry, clothing ranges with AAB and designer Kemi Telford, greeting cards by AfroTouch and new world foods have already launched across John Lewis and Waitrose.
• Inclusion Committee: We are creating an Inclusion Committee, which will launch in the summer and feature external advisers who have strong diversity and inclusion experience, as well as our own Partners. The committee will help accelerate and scrutinise the delivery of our plans to be a more inclusive business that welcomes and celebrates diversity.

Sharon White, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “As an employee-owned business, equality matters to us. We want John Lewis and Waitrose to be a place for everyone and for people from all walks of life to feel valued so they can thrive in our business.

“We want to be there for our Partners to support them in important life moments, whether that’s stepping into the world of work for the first time, or becoming a parent.”

Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP and Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee said: “The recent work of the Women and Equalities Committee has highlighted a number of areas in which employers can really help. This announcement from the John Lewis Partnership has shown them to be really leading the way in making sure their Partners are supported, with a commitment to flexible working, equal maternity and paternity paid leave and baby loss leave. All initiatives which will make a real difference.

“The pandemic has been particularly hard for families juggling all sorts of different demands and pressures and I am pleased but not surprised the John Lewis Partnership has risen to the challenge to help both existing and future employees.”

Felicia Willow, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society said: “It’s great to see the John Lewis Partnership supporting working mothers and fathers to look after their children. We need more UK business to follow this example and enable both parents to take parental leave. The expectation that childcare falls to mothers helps the gender pay gap and many other workplace inequalities to thrive.

“It’s also encouraging to see the John Lewis Partnership making a clear commitment to advertise all vacancies with a flexible working option. This proves that despite the Employment Bill being delayed, there is no reason businesses can’t step up and put in place policies that will improve gender equality in the workplace.”

The post John Lewis Partnership Launches New Support For Working Families and Young People Leaving the Care System appeared first on Financial Mark.

Tesco believes it’s important to offer an easy, clean, and free way for customers to top-up their cars while shopping with them. So far, the network has provided more than 10 million miles of carbon-neutral energy to customers using the facilities, and with 1,660 charge points installed so far, Tesco hope to reach their target of 2,400 next year. The latest TV advert from Volkswagen features Tesco’s Sutton Cheam Extra, thanks to Tesco’s Store Manager, Darren Jeffries, for supporting the team.

Tesco has already used 100% renewable electricity across their stores and distribution centres and has committed to reaching net-zero emissions in their UK business by 2035 – 15 years earlier than we originally planned. Their electric vehicle charging network is just part of the action they are taking to help tackle the two most significant sources of emissions in the UK – electricity production and transport.

Moreover, Tesco now signed power purchase agreements with Low Carbon and EDF to create new solar farms throughout the UK, which will help them procure more renewable energy for their business. They’ve also installed hundreds of solar panels across their UK stores, with work still ongoing, and will make all of their Dotcom delivery vans fully electric by 2028.

The post Tesco Are Working with Volkswagen and Pod Point to provide carbon neutral energy appeared first on Financial Mark.

Sainsbury’s Neighbourhood Hub stores are a food-led extension of Sainsbury’s renowned convenience offer and are set up to serve longer missions due to their size and location. The vision for Neighbourhood Hub stores is to be the best “in neighbourhood” one-stop offer, with product choice and community at heart. The new format also caters to the shift seen throughout the pandemic across customer behaviour towards longer shopping missions. Customers can now enjoy a larger selection of products to choose from in a larger variety of sizes, such as more meat and fish products, wider selection of vegetarian and vegan options, new meal kit ranges, flower bouquets and cosmetics.

The renovation work and new store offerings have been rolled out to provide customers with greater convenience and choice in the villages. Most of the Hubs feature a new Argos Click & Collect facility, and by bringing together the much-loved brands of Sainsbury’s and Argos under one roof, customers will be able to collect their Argos shopping whilst picking up their groceries. Customers can enter their Argos collection number on the in-store to table to request their Argos purchase and a colleague will collect it for them.

Alongside these new Hub stores, a further four Sainsbury’s convenience stores have launched additional Neighbourhood Hub product ranges. These range improvementsat Ascot, Bishopston, and two in Hackney, also serve longer shopping missions.

Sainsbury’s Property Director, Patrick Dunne said: “Our newest hub stores look great and I’m sure our customers will enjoy doing more of their shopping closer to home. We’re continually investing in our store network and adapting our estate to ensure it best reflects our customers’ changing shopping habits and local demand. Our Neighbourhood Hubs have proved extremely popular and that has really motivated the team to open more for our customers through a combination of acquiring new sites and upgrading current stores.”

Sainsbury’s is working to open around 18 more Neighbourhood Hub stores over the next few years, in addition to investing in upgrading some of its current convenience stores into this new format and will keep customers updated on plans. Sainsbury’s now has seven Neighbourhood Hub stores: Penwortham, Whitstable High Street, Billingshurst, Melbourne Derby Road, Bishop’s Waltham, Midhurst and Woodhall Spa.

Woodhall Spa was the pilot for the new format and went live in 2019. Sainsbury’s opened both Bishop’s Waltham and Midhurst in November 2020 and refurbished Melbourne Derby Road and Billingshurst in March 2021. Whitstable High Street and Penwortham were upgraded in May 2021.

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