Money blog: Two airlines charge highest luggage fees - as 'frankly absurd' costs under fire (2025)

Almost half of companies will not be having a Christmas party this year, new research suggests.

Among those still in the festive spirit, one in four workers were expected to pay for it themselves, according to a study of 650 employers by jobs site CV-Library.

The most popular party will be dinner and drinks, followed by a private event, drinks at the local pub, drinks in the office or a joint party with other companies.

"The work Christmas party used to be the highlight of the office social calendar, but these figures suggest it might be losing its sparkle," said Lee Biggins, chief executive of CV-Library.

"With tighter budgets, more remote working, and staff enthusiasm on the wane, it seems some companies are rethinking the traditional end-of-year bash."

Have you had to pay for your work Christmas party? Do you think that's fair? Let us know in the box at the top of the page.

By James Sillars, business reporter

Tis the season to be jolly but there's not much Christmas cheer at Currys.

The electricals retailer has updated its shareholders with half-year results, reporting a 2% rise in group like-for-like sales over the six months to 26 October including a 5% rise in the UK and Ireland.

Currys said it remained on track to grow annual profits in line with previous guidance, adding that trading in the lead-up to Christmas was in line with expectations.

That helped its shares rise by more than 7% in early deals.

But that was where the upbeat message largely ended.

Currys warned of "unwelcome" headwinds looming from the budget, which will hit its business from April.

The company complained that measures such as increases to employer National Insurance contributions would be felt "materially” and depress investment and hiring.

Like others in the retail space, its main message was that customers faced "inevitable" price rises to help offset the estimated impact.

The company put the bill at £32m.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 opened slightly higher but remained down on the week.

Wider retail shares failed to secure a lift in the wake of Currys' trading update.

It shows, possibly, that there are nerves over how the festive season will play out among shoppers still feeling the cost of living pain from raised borrowing costs and higher bills, such as those for household energy.

Remember, inflation remains well down on the 11% crisis peaks but prices are still rising, just not as quickly.

By Brad Young, live news reporter

"Absurd" baggage fees are "clobbering" holidaymakers carrying gifts from friends and family, a travel expert has warned.

Simon Calder, a former airport security guard and travel journalist, said some charges for carrying too much weight are as high as the price of the plane ticket.

His advice comes as a survey finds 32% of travellers have been charged for overweight baggage, paying out an extra £55 on average.

The research, carried out by Confused.com, found 40% of those penalised were transporting gifts.

"I'm seeing increasingly that charges for baggage are often as much as the original fare, which is frankly absurd," said Mr Calder.

He said allowances "have been so radically transformed" since just 20 years ago, when every airline provided at least 15kg for free and "you could quite happily take enough stuff for a month".

It's no wonder that Confused.com found one in five people said they had to purchase an additional piece of luggage at the airport.

Overweight baggage fees now range from £10 per kg to a flat fee of £65.

Virgin Atlantic and British Airways charged the steepest rate for packing slightly over the limit - but BA does offer the most generous allowance to begin with.

Can't see your airline? You can check your allowance using Confused.com's online checker here.

"I'm really concerned about this over Christmas because the survey from Confused.com shows that a lot of people are ending up being clobbered for extra charges at the airport, typically because they've been given presents to take," said Mr Calder.

Five million Britons are expected to travel abroad over the December period, according to the Travel Association.

And Heathrow Airport has said it is preparing for its busiest Christmas Day - at 21% higher than last year.

Even an expert like Mr Caldwell can get caught out, having had to pay a fee before a flight from Panama where they weighed passengers.

"I was found to be seven kilograms too heavy and I think it cost me about $30 - that taught me."

With Christmas around the corner,Savings Championco-founder Anna Bowes tells us about a longer-term gift you might consider giving your children this year...

You have the option of offering immediate joy by getting them something they want today that they may have grown out of tomorrow or getting something that they might not be excited about today, but will be very grateful for when they are older - I am of course talking about a savings account.

It's never too late to start saving for your children but the earlier you start, the more of a difference it can make.

The type of account you choose depends on what access you want your child to have, as well as the risk you are prepared to take, but starting as soon as possible can make a huge difference.

As can choosing the most tax-efficient options, and a Junior ISA (JISA) is often the most obvious one.

A JISA is a tax-free savings account for both the parent and the child, so it can be an ideal account to place funds that you gift to your child.

Parents should be aware that there may be a tax liability on the interest earned on any money they gift to their children outside a JISA until they reach the age of 18.

If the total gross interest earned on all cash gifted by each parent is more than £100 a year, then all of it (not just the excess) will be treated as that parent's interest.

This is a key reason why parents may prefer to place money gifts in a JISA - as this tax rule does not apply.

Top JISA rates have been affected by the base rate cuts we have seen over the last few months but remain competitive, so it's well worth considering for those who'd rather not take the stocks and shares route.

Remember to keep monitoring the rate you are earning, though, as they are variable.

Workers in England are the most overqualified of 31 of the world's biggest economies, a report has found.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 37% of English workers are overqualified and they earn around 18% less than their peers in well-matched jobs.

Japanese workers are the second-most overqualified at 35%, followed by Israelis at 34%.

Belgium, Singapore and Poland have the lowest at 14%, under the OECD average of 23%.

The survey looks at literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills in adults from 31 countries.

A worker is classified as overqualified when the level of their highest qualification is above the qualification level typically required for their role.

Responding to the report, the government said it "needs to harness" people's talents to "kickstart growth" in the economy.

Jacqui Smith, skills minister, said: "We are determined to break down barriers to opportunity by developing a culture of lifelong learning, and this report shows that we can and must do more to ensure everyone has the skills they need to get on in life."

Energy companies will be told to offer customers the option of paying no fixed-rate charges, reducing costs for people who use the least electricity as household energy debts hit almost £4bn.

Under its plan to shake up bills, the energy regulator Ofgem will mandate that energy suppliers offer low or zero standing charge tariffs.

Standing charges are fixed fees, usually more than £300 a year, paid by all households regardless of how much energy they use - and there have been growing calls for them to be scrapped.

Low or no-standing charge tariffs are offered by some suppliers already, but it is not universal, and Ofgem believes more choice is needed for consumers who are low users of electricity.

Customer energy debts have soared by 91% in the past twoyears, reaching £3.82bn in September, Ofgem said. The energy price cap, which limits electricity bills, will rise by £21 a year to £1,738 in January. Under the cap, standing charges have increased by 43% since 2019.

Tim Jarvis, director general of markets at Ofgem, said manypeople "felt very strongly" that standing charges are "unfair and prevent them from being able to manage their bills effectively".

"We want to give consumers the ability to make the choice that's right for them without putting any one group of consumers at a disadvantage. And by having a zero standing charge tariff, we would create that choice for everyone," he said.

A pub chain says it met customers' Guinness demands "by the skin of our teeth" over the weekend despite a temporary supply limit ahead of Christmas - and only sees things getting worse this month.

Guinness maker Diageo hasplaced limits on pub and bar purchasesof the Irish-made stout in the UK following a rush of sales, and said it is managing allocations of kegs on a week-by-week basis.

This was to ensure that the firm had plenty of stock across its supply chain to avoid panic buying and avert shortages.

But it has led to concern among pubs and bars this winter, with some saying the cap could leave them with far less Guinness than their customers demand.

For Irish pub chain Katie O'Brien's, which has seven pubs across England, Guinness is "built into the business model," operations director Shaun Jenkinson tells Sky News.

Read on here:

Nearly 140,000 carers owe more than £250m for overpayment of a key benefit they receive, with a watchdog warning many may be racking up debt without knowing.

The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, said the number who owe carer's allowance overpayment debt had risen every year since 2018, and was up by almost three quarters from 80,169 to 136,730 in 2023-2024.

In a report covering England, Scotland and Wales, it said the Department for Work and Pensions paid £3.7bn in carer's allowance to more than 900,000 claimants in 2023-2024. Carers must earn £151 a week or less to qualify for the allowance.

The NAO said the current rules created a "cliff edge", meaning a claimant - who by law must inform DWP promptly if their circumstances change - is either entitled to the whole allowance or none of it and so can "quickly build up significant overpayments".

The report stated: "This means it is important to identify an overpayment early or, better still, prevent it from occurring."

Total outstanding overpayment debt in 2023-2024 amounted to £251.7m, up from £150.2m five years ago.

Historic overpayments have led to many carers unwittingly racking up unmanageable levels of debt and some quitting their jobs as a result.

The issue of people being penalised for going over their earnings limit for carer's allowance - even by as little as a few pence per week - was previously branded a "scandal" by charities.

The earnings threshold will rise to £196 a week from April.

We covered the hardships faced by carers in a Money series earlier this year:

The average annual cost of renting is £3,240 higher than it was three years ago, new figures show.

That's a whopping £270 added to the cost of rent per month for UK households, and it's likely to be even more expensive next year.

A quarterly rental market report released byZooplahas shown the rate of rental growth in the UK has slowed slightly to 3.9%, down from 9.1% a year ago.

In London, rentsare rising at just 1.3%, down from 8.7% a year ago, while growth is 10.5% in Northern Ireland and 8.7% in the North East.

But while rents are rising at a slower pace,Zoopla predicts that they will still increase by 4% over 2025,taking the annual rental cost to £15,850.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, noted that thenumber of rented homes had not grown since 2016 and this had created "scarcity" for renters "at a time when demand has boomed on a strong labour market and the rising cost of home ownership".

"Rental growth has slowed but we expect an ongoing lack of rental supply to keep an upward pressure on rents," he said.

"The ambitions to expand home building are important as the quickest way to ease the pressure on renters is to boost the supply of private and social rented homes."

Royal Mail has revealed the toys children are asking for the most in thousands of letters to Father Christmas this year.

An old-school classic - Lego - tops the list for the first time in seven years.

In-demand gifts from Santa also includeBarbie dolls, scooters, Squishmallow stuffed toys, and bikes.

The top 10 of most wanted presents is completed by Nerf Guns, headphones, PlayStation 5, Hot Wheels and make-up.

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