Business interest: The government’s Employment Rights Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament, has promised the biggest overhaul of workers’ rights in a generation. But it is now facing a backlash from members of the business community for ignoring their concerns, with some accusing it of undermining the government’s own push for growth.
But only 6% of Britons feel the government should prioritise what is best for businesses when it comes to employment rights, even if just 21% think they should consider what is best for employees.
Instead, 66% of the public believe it is crucial to equally balance the needs of both businesses and employees.
A belief in the importance of balancing what is best for business and workers is fairly uniform across voters, with 64-69% of Labour, Lib Dem and Reform UK voters feeling both sets of interests should be equally considered, though this rises to 79% among Conservatives.
Instead, the strongest divide is seen by age, with 39% of 18-24 year olds and 27% of 25-49 year olds saying it is more important to consider what is best for employees, relative to 15% of 50-64 year olds and 7% of over 65s.
Giving the finger: Sometimes, words aren’t enough to express your frustration, instead forcing you to resort to a hand gesture to show how you feel. Traditionally, Britons favoured raising the index and middle fingers together in a V-shape, though the American middle finger has grown in popularity in recent years.
But Britons don’t necessarily perceive the two gestures the same way. Although 42% of the public say they are both equally offensive, 40% view giving just the middle finger as more offensive than ‘giving the Vs’, compared to just 4% who see it the other way round.
It is older Britons who tend not to distinguish between the two, with 66% of over 65s seeing both gestures as equally offensive, relative to just 20% of 18-24 year olds. By contrast, 52% of 18-24 year olds say the middle finger is the ruder way to gesticulate, alongside 48% of 25-49 year olds, 41% of 50-64 year olds, but just 19% of over 65s.
Friendly smells: We’ve all known somebody who smelt a little bad, but it can create a difficult dilemma, especially if they’re your friend: do you tell them that they pong, running the risk of them being offended, or do you leave the matter alone and live with the odour.
24% of Britons say they would not tell a friendly if they smelt badly on a regular basis, compared to 65% who say something, including 22% who seemingly have no qualms about it, saying they definitely would bring it up.
Women are more likely to stay silent, with 28% saying they would say nothing, compared to 20% of men.
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