Jaguar Land Rover to halt production in April, pregnant women to get more job protection, and more top news

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Jaguar Land Rover is to extend its annual April shutdown in car production, due to potential Brexit disruptions. The shutdown between 8-12 April will be in addition to a scheduled closure the following week, and will affect all three of Jaguar Land Rover's UK car plants. It will be the carmakers second closure in six months. Meanwhile, rival Ford has warned that a no-deal Brexit will result in costs of £612m in 2019 alone.

Also... With 64 days to go until Britain leaves the EU, the Queen has urged MPs to “seek out the common ground”.

Pregnant women and new parents returning to work will enjoy greater protection against unfair dismissal under new government plans. Theresa May has announced a 10-week consultation that will consider extending legal protection against redundancy for pregnant women and new mothers for up to six months after they return to work, and will explore similar safeguards to parents returning to work after adoption leave and shared leave. Research estimates that 54,000 women a year may lose their jobs as a result of their pregnancy or maternity.

Illegally low pay is ‘rife’ in UK textiles industry, MPs have warned. The Commons environmental audit committee received evidence from HM Revenue & Customs showing an increase in minimum-wage breaches as part of its inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry. HMRC reported opening 93 investigations over failure to pay minimum wage in clothing factories over the six tax years to 2017-18.

Some of the world’s biggest brands are set to trial reusable, refillable packaging. Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Unilever and Danone — in partnership with recycling company TerraCycle — are among the 25 companies that have signed up to sell products in glass, steel and other containers designed to be returned, washed and reused. Trials will start in New York and Paris later this year. Refillables made up 100% of soft-drink containers in 1947 — by 1998, that figure had dropped to 0.4%.

Viagogo is facing serious penalties for failing to adequately comply with court orders. The Competition and Markets Authority — which had given the controversial ticket resale site until this month to overhaul its business practices — says the changes it made aren’t substantial enough. Viagogo faces fines and possible jail terms for its directors. The CMA won a court order in November forcing Viagogo to tell buyers if there’s a risk they will be turned away at the door from venues.

Idea of the Day: We need to think about how we can help those 1.3 billion people with disabilities participate more fully in the global workforce, says disability advocate Tamar Savir.

“Technology could be a remarkable tool to help close the unemployment gap. If we build with inclusion in mind, we can create products, processes, and services that benefit everyone.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.  

— Natalie MacDonald