News round-up: Debt-laden care home firm is reprieved until July

Debt-laden care home firm is reprieved until July

Four Seasons, the owner and manager of more than 400 nursing and care homes, has reached a third standstill agreement with its creditors, including Royal Bank of Scotland, until July 22, allowing the company to stay in business, a source close to the situation told the Guardian.

Four Seasons, with about £1.5bn of debt, has been negotiating a debt restructuring with its creditors since August. The complexity of its debt – which includes 35 different lenders and 11 tiers of debt – has contributed to the delays.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

Sick workers entitled to full holiday pay

Workers on long-term sick leave are entitled to paid holidays, one of Europe’s highest courts ruled today.

In a decision that clarifies the law after years of confusion, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that all workers are entitled to up to four weeks of holiday pay for each year they are on sick leave.

Read more on this story in The Times

50 child sex offenders were cleared to work with children

At least 50 sex offenders who pose an ‘ongoing risk’ to children were cleared to work in schools, an inquiry has found.
Some were approved by ministers or senior officials to continue working with children despite evidence they had committed sex offences.
Read more on this story in The Daily Mail

Unemployment to rise above two million

The number of people out of work will surge over the two million mark on Wednesday, official figures are expected to show.
Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph

Is it time for a budgeting rethink?

The future is older. With demographics telling us that the numbers of people who will need care and support into old age are rising inexorably, the pressures on resources are increasing. Through implementing personal budgets, government is hoping that people will both opt for fewer services and obtain better services more cheaply, thus reducing the pressure on already overstretched budgets.

Read more on this story in Society Guardian

A lone voice

Fiona Weir, head of newly relaunched Gingerbread, is fighting the corner of single parents against outdated stereotypes and sanctions to push them back into work, while arguing for more and better childcare, she tells Mary O’Hara.